


October Ficlet Challenge

by Inkpot



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father Figures, Feelings, Fish, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Investigations, Panic Attacks, Tags will be updated as needed, all up to interpretation, but they can be read otherwise if you want, implied panic attacks, most relationships are written as platonic, or one anyway this universe needs more good parents, protective detectives, which rhymes and is therefore great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-08 22:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 29,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12263517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkpot/pseuds/Inkpot
Summary: A series of disconnected shorts with one detail in common across them all.





	1. Haunted

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is a challenge both to myself and the readers. You don't have to take part to read these, of course, but if you're curious then keep reading. If not, go ahead and skip the rest of this note and enjoy the story. :)
> 
> It's more or less as stated in the summary. There's one thing that will be included in every work, though not necessarily in any significant way. This doesn't mean it can't be significant either. I'd give more hints, but I feel like it'll be obvious enough once I get a few more posted. 
> 
> I'd like to encourage anyone interested to guess what the detail is. If you get it right, you have the honor of guessing right and (optional) can make a request for the next day's ficlet. Multiple people can guess right. If two people guess on the same day I'll take requests chronologically. If it's the last day of October and someone guesses, I'll add on a story as soon as I find time. Which, well. Next month's November so it might be a while.
> 
> I'd like to ask that any given person only guess once per chapter. It's more or less honor system, since I don't want to shut out unregistered users, but I'd appreciate if nobody took advantage of that. 
> 
> Fair warning, if your guess is right I'll delete the comment after replying, so other people can still guess. 
> 
> This is obviously something of an experiment, but if it turns out to be pretty fun I might try again sometime.
> 
> (Fair warning: WtNE is still my priority, and real life stuff comes before that. I may miss a day or two if I run out of time, for which I apologize in advance.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan notices that KID isn't up to his usual standard and decides to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignore what the publication date says, it's the third here not the fourth. I mention this because it means I'll be updating this when it's _actually_ the fourth as well, if all goes according to plan.

Conan climbed the stairs to the building’s roof. The heist was long over, most people headed home, but he knew that a certain thief wouldn’t have left yet. Something was wrong, and he needed to find out what.

As expected, KID was still on the roof, gazing out into the night. He almost turned and left; the stillness seemed calm, soothing, the sort of silence that shouldn’t be broken. Then he looked closer and caught the minute shifts of KID’s head and shoulders. He was looking for something.

“KID,” he called, a greeting and an announcement of his presence.

KID shifted so one eye was just visible, tilting his head by way of greeting. “Tantei-kun. I thought you hadn’t come.”

“Chasing you didn’t seem fair today.”

“Oh?”

He pulled out a folded paper and tapped it against his other hand as emphasis. “This is the simplest heist note I’ve ever seen from you. You could almost have given the time and place openly and lost no complexity. Plus, the full moon isn’t for two days, and you usually go out of your way to perform heists then.” He tucked the note away again. “Something’s wrong.”

KID smiled, but it seemed off. Not forced, exactly, but not in the least happy. “That obvious, is it?”

Conan shrugged. “I mean, nobody else seemed to notice. Maybe I just know you that well.”

KID’s smile faltered. He turned to look up at the moon. “Perhaps so.”

When KID didn’t seem about to say anything more, Conan approached slowly (from the side, he wasn’t stupid) and leaned on the railing a short distance from him. If KID just needed someone to stand there as a silent presence, he could do that.

“Say, tantei-kun…”

Conan glanced over with a carefully schooled look of mild curiosity. KID’s face was hidden, the half facing him lost in the shadows from his hat. “Did you… have you ever thought you lost something, something you can never get back, something you wanted but could never have again… and then, for a moment, thought you had it back?”

Conan turned to fully face him. “KID?”

The thief moved so his face was partially lit by the moon, light glinting off the moisture beading in his eyes. His smile had vanished completely. “I thought it was him. That he had survived, and come back somehow. I should have known better. I should have realized it was just a trick, part of the test. But I…”

A quick scan of recent memory brought to mind a newspaper article, about some thief who looked like KID’s mirror image issuing a challenge. Then another memory, a discussion on an online forum about how KID had changed his look slightly after his hiatus and this challenger was emulating the old one. Finally some of his own speculations regarding KID’s motivations.

Conan’s eyes widened as he put the pieces together. He stumbled a step toward the thief before he could stop himself, hand extended as if to comfort him. “Oh my god, KID…”

KID looked down, eyes fixed on where gloved fingers grip the railing tightly. “I thought he might show up again, if I did another heist right after. But I guess not. I’ll never know for sure if she was… if there was a reason he looked…”

He barely flinched when Conan’s fingers wrapped around his, prying them away from the bar and turning KID to face him. The thief looked at Conan’s face for barely a second before collapsing to his knees and clutching the detective close.

Conan didn’t try to pull back, just hugged KID back without a word as he shook.

They stayed there long enough that Conan began wishing he’d worn something a little warmer for the heist before KID finally pulled back. Conan released him and looked up, meeting the thief’s bloodshot eyes. “Will you be okay?”

KID hesitated, then managed a tremulous – but genuine – smile. “Not yet. But I will be.”

Conan studied his face, then nodded, drawing back a step. “Call me if you need to talk. I don’t believe for a second that you never looked up my number.”

The smile grew a bit. “Borrowed your phone, actually.”

That got him an eye roll. Typical idiot thief behavior. “Whatever. Just.” He hesitated, then plowed on. “You shouldn’t be dealing with this alone. Okay?”

“I do have friends outside of my detectives, you know.”

He narrowed his eyes, not fooled in the least by the attempted nonchalance. Something about having KID crying all over his shoulder less than five minutes before. “But do you have anyone you’ll talk to about your work?”

KID attempted to stare him down for about ten seconds before his shoulders slumped. “My assistant, perhaps. I’d rather not bother him with this though.”

It sounded like there were Reasons behind that, but Conan resisted the urge to pry with some difficulty. “Then call if you need it. Sometimes you just need someone who you don’t have to pretend around.” He would know.

“…Alright. But only if you do the same.”

Blink. Blink. “Um… I don’t have your number, you know.”

KID grinned. “Check your phone!” Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Conan sighed and checked his phone. What had he –

There was a new contact on his list, one Kuroba Kaito. He’d already received a message from the number chattering on and on about how awesome KID was and how great Conan was at chasing him, with no reference to the fact that one of the sender’s idols was attempting to put the other in handcuffs.

Snickering to himself, Conan began to type a reply.


	2. Bubble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The detectives get one over their thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow feelings snuck in here when I wasn't looking. Not too many, but it's not quite the pure funny I'd intended.  
> ...Oh well, I can live with that.  
> And the chapter date is off again. This is kind of irritating actually, since I'm planning to do each day of October.

It was a lovely night for a KID heist. Not quite a full moon, but plenty bright enough for KID’s signature suit to stand out against the darkness of the night.

When the thief arrived on the roof, he was surprised to find only Hakuba waiting for him, but recovered quickly and put on his usual bright KID grin. “Why hello there, tantei-san. I must confess I’m surprised to see you alone. Where’s your height challenged companion?”

Hakuba merely smiled a bland smile. “Oh, I’m sure he’s around somewhere.”

At that point, KID found himself pushed forward by a firm pressure against his back. He barely had time to be surprised before suddenly being spun in tight circles as the pressure surrounded him.

By the time the spinning stopped, he was tightly wrapped in enough clear plastic to blur his view of his detectives as they exchanged a high five. He gave them a long-suffering look from inside his prison. “Really? Bubble wrap?”

“Why not?” Conan said, his smugness audible in tone even if KID couldn’t quite make out his expression. “It’s good for protection, right? You won’t be able to get hurt on our watch, not if you’re safely wrapped up.”

KID pretended the sentiment didn’t leave him with a warm fuzzy feeling and focused on the fact that he’d just been pranked. Very effectively. By _detectives._ “How did you even manage this?”

“Tsk, tsk, KID,” Conan said with an exaggerated finger waggle. Hakuba’s shoulders shook as he fought back a laugh. “You know a magician never reveals his secrets.”

Hakuba lost the battle and burst out laughing at the look on KID’s face. Conan joined in a minute later.

KID rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. If I give you the gem will you let me out?”

“Actually,” Conan said, holding up a handkerchief-wrapped stone, “I grabbed it when you first came out here. Pickpocketing isn’t my usual method, but it works.”

If it weren’t for his predicament requiring outside help (or a lot of very embarrassing fumbling), KID would have made a joke about corrupting him. As it was, he managed to resist the temptation. “Taking away my bargaining chip. Nice one, tantei-kun.”

“Thanks, I thought so too. Hakuba, your phone has a camera right?”

KID resigned himself to having embarrassing pictures plastered all over the internet by morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whether they let him out or he escaped on his own is open to interpretation, but there were definitely pictures everywhere. Aoko rubbed it in Kaito's face at school the next day while Hakuba tried not to laugh.


	3. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some nights are worse than others.  
> (Continuation of the scenario in Haunted, but can be read independently.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting October fifth, third work in this challenge. 
> 
> This... went somewhat sideways from where I'd intended. I blame getting sad over unrelated things and continuing to write anyway. But I really didn't want to miss today for various reasons.
> 
> I've been meaning to write something along this line for some time, and today seemed like a good day. I may rewrite this scene eventually so I can focus more on Kaito's state of mind and less on the situation between him and Conan (which is more or less what happened. Oops.)

Shinichi sat sipping his thermos of hot chocolate on a roof, basking in the light of a full moon, and took a moment to acknowledge that for once it wasn’t for a heist. Still because of KID, but not a heist.

It was bizarre enough to be worth noting, and he said as much when he heard movement behind him. “You know, this might be our first rooftop meeting under the full moon that wasn't because of a precious stone.”

KID chuckled, joining him on the peak of the Kudo mansion’s roof. His black clothing blended smoothly with the night so only his chin was clearly visible, the rest more a suggestion of an outline than a solid shape, even with the moonlight. “That sounds about right.”

Shinichi smiled at him, but it faded when he registered the tone used. That was the ‘I’m holding it together because if I drop the act I might fall to pieces’ voice. Like the voice right after Corbeau, but… not. This was less about concealing emotion from an audience and more about clinging to normal, or at least their normal. But he wasn’t focused on the idea of Shinichi seeing him out of character. Much as he was worried for his friend, he felt his heart swell at the display of trust.

But right now he needed to focus. “What can I do?”

KID - no, he was more Kaito than KID right now, and separation of identities mattered with the two of them. Kaito hesitated for just a moment before speaking. “Inside. Please.”

He opened the trapdoor to the roof and stepped in, allowing the thief to enter after him. No need to provoke his paranoia; the attic was not an especially large space. Sometimes you didn’t want anyone at your back, no matter how trusted. The space was dustier than the rest of the house, so he quickly headed down to the library, their usual hangout space when they weren’t spending their time on rooftops.

They split up so he could make a quick detour to the kitchen, returning with two mugs of instant hot chocolate. Kaito was already curled up on the couch and staring at nothing in particular. His mask was already beginning to fracture now that they were inside. Shinichi passed him a mug and took a seat at his feet without a word.

He had an idea of why Kaito wanted to meet with him, but he'd wait until he was ready to talk. No need to bring up more painful memories if he was wrong.

The silence remained for what seemed like a small eternity. It was probably a couple of hours, but he didn't want to risk disturbing Kaito by twisting to check the clock. He was just glad he’d thought to claim a sleepover at Agasa’s so Ran wouldn't worry about him getting home late. This was clearly not going to be a quick visit.

“I failed to save him.”

Shinichi turned toward Kaito, almost surprised to hear him speak at all. The teenager was looking at his hand, held above him against the light. “I had him, I could have pulled him up… but I let him go.”

So he was right about what was on Kaito’s mind. At least, he was if the official police reports were accurate. News reports had been mostly speculative, everyone who knew anything keeping tight-lipped. Probably because of the whole ‘Interpol agent being an international criminal’ bit.

He’d like to claim surprise at how long it took Kaito to come to him about it, but he couldn’t. Kaito had a horrible habit of letting these things fester rather than talking about them, even now that he had someone he could talk to. (Not that he was one to talk about keeping things inside.) His texts over the last month had been cheerful as ever, but Shinichi had known how unlikely it was that his strictly nonviolent friend would be completely okay after watching a man die.

He hadn’t realized how close to the events Kaito had been, though thinking back on the clues he should have. (A glove clutched in the body’s hand, a single card shot to knock aside the mask before the child could see-) And he’d never been good at reassurance, more skilled at the art of capturing the criminal than comforting the victim. That hadn’t stopped just because he disagreed with where Kaito was going with his claims. But he had to try. Kaito needed to realize this wasn’t his responsibility.

“You tried to hold onto him, right? To keep him from falling.”

Kaito’s hand clenched into a fist. “But I failed. It’s my fault he died.”

“Kaito, he was a grown man. There’s… you couldn’t have held on for long, not without falling yourself.”

“I had leverage though. I was lying down, I could have…”

“You couldn’t. Not even if he’d dropped the earrings to hold on.” A conjecture, but one proven accurate by the full-body flinch it provoked.

“…Damn it.” Kaito curled in on himself, crossing his arms as though for warmth. “Why did he… You say that, but maybe if… He wouldn’t listen when… I couldn’t…” His words trailed off as he began to shake.

Shinichi set his mug down and leaned back, wishing he could do more. The best he could do for now was be present, a guardian against the sharp-edged lies Kaito’s mind whispered to him and the cold necessity of the thief’s silence.

Later, when Kaito calmed down enough to allow contact, Shinichi slid under the edge of the blanket to curl up beside him. He didn’t say a word as arms wrapped around him and clung as though he were the last thing keeping Kaito from breaking.

(Maybe he was. Sometimes they had to be that last thing for each other, because who else could?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you need something more cheerful after that, may I recommend _Color_ , I for one find it funny. (I'm biased as the author, but still.)


	4. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan investigates a case. KID helps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Sixth.
> 
> Inspiration comes from the strangest places. I was walking along, the afternoon was perfectly sunny, and one of my old songs (from back in middle school, so when I say old I really mean it) starts playing in my head. It involves rain heavily, so I started thinking about rain, particularly the fact that it's not so bad and the dark and stormy night cliche always strikes me as odd because rain in general is pretty soothing. This was applied to Conan, the first few lines happened, and it went from there.
> 
> In more important news, I may miss the next couple days due to not having much writing time. Important real life events are happening. Sorry about that. I'd feel worse about it if people were trying to guess the one detail present throughout, but I do regret it. I'm trying to see if I can get some more done today so I'll at least be able to post tomorrow, if not Sunday.

Most of the time he liked the rain. It was soothing, cleansing. It washed away the dust of time and replaced it with that clean, pure rain smell.  Yes, most of the time he liked the rain just fine. Most of the time, however, the rain had not just washed away a vital clue in his investigation.

It had mostly stopped by the time he was out searching irritably for some mark, a dropped item, anything the culprit could have left to prove his guilt. The clouds had thinned enough to see by the light of a moon just past full. His hair was still getting damp, but at least he wouldn’t be risking-

“You’ll catch a cold, playing out here in the rain.”

Actually, he wouldn’t, so long as he stayed properly warm. Which was what he’d just been thinking. But he turned a bright child’s smile on the young woman crouched down beside him. He recognized her as the victim’s sister.

Who should have been inside, answering questions, as she’d been the last to see the victim alive. Conan’s smile froze, then dropped completely. “Really, KID? I’m fine, and not stupid enough to catch a cold.”

The ‘girl’ tilted her head in confusion. “Kid? No offense, but I think I’m older than you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He returned to his work, ignoring his company.

There was a pause, then an aggrieved sigh. “You could at least _pretend_ to play along,” KID said in his own voice.

“No thanks.”

KID huffed, but didn’t say anything for a minute. “What are you looking for?”

Conan glanced up, then back at the muddy earth. “Evidence. Hisakawa is definitely the one who killed him, but I can’t prove it even though the idiot was overconfident enough to leave footprints outside the window.” The window had been key to setting up a locked room, and that part had been easy to lead Mouri through; the hard part was finding proof of who was responsible now that the rain had wiped out the prints.

KID understood, glancing at the sky. “I see.” Sharp eyes darted around until he pointed at something in the grass. “Say, isn’t that a link from a necklace chain?”

Conan resisted the temptation to dive for the item in question. He looked at the broken piece of metal and began to smile, recalling a scratch and loose screw on the window frame. “It looks like part of the necklace Hisakawa said he lost.”

“And wasn’t he wearing it in that picture from their vacation just last week?”

“But he said today was the first time he’d visited since then.”

The two exchanged a grin that would have frightened most observers.

Apparently even the most annoying rain had a good side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, the sister's name (the girl KID disguised as) is Kurosawa Haruka and the murderer's full name is Hisakawa Souma. In case anyone cares. It doesn't mean anything, I just thought they'd need names and then they didn't. :P


	5. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> KID contemplates how much he's done and how little he has to show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Seventh.
> 
> Warning for implied suicidal thoughts and related dark themes. This is not happy, nor does it get better.
> 
> This is more a vent fic than I'd intended, but it still follows my rules for this set, and I have valid reasons. At least now I'm numb enough emotionally that sleep might be possible. It also means I didn't edit this as thoroughly as I might have, so consider yourselves warned.  
> Partly written to Icon for Hire: Hope of Morning, in case anyone cares.
> 
> Now I'm going to go watch Detective Conan or Magic Kaito episodes until I fall asleep.

KID stood on the edge of a skyscraper, looking down. For once there were no cheering crowds, no raging police officers. No, this time he had come alone, watched only by the gibbous moon above him. And beautiful as she was, he rather wished she, too, would go, and leave him to his silent misery.

He’d not realized it until a little earlier, on a different sky scraper across town where the usual crowds were still dispersing. But at that moment, gemstone raised to the moon, he’d frozen at the realization that he could not immediately recall how many stones he’d checked, how often he’d held a gem to the moon only to be disappointed. He could count them up, of course, figure it out by considering each and every one, but that wasn’t the point.

So now he stood, looking down from the edge of a skyscraper, with the sharp realizations and dark thoughts lurking in his mind, wishing he could go home.

It would sound odd to most people if he expressed the wish. First off, Kaitou KID, homesick? Second, technically he could go home. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

It started with the realization that he could no longer count the gems he’d checked, continued with the wish to go home and the realization that even if he did, there was nobody waiting for him there. He could call his mom, sure, but Nakamori had been more of a parent all these years since his dad died. And it wasn’t like he could tell the inspector what was on his mind, so going to him was right out.

That also removed nearly everyone he knew from the list. Jii was the only person who was both a keeper of his secrets and close enough to him to understand. But the old man didn’t need these burdens. He worried enough as it was.

At some point he settled down on the concrete rim, sitting with legs crossed and hands cupping his chin in what could be mistaken for a thoughtful gesture. It wasn’t, really. He was thinking, but in that position he could sit there without certain temptations, namely the arguable excuse that certain actions taken were completely accidental.

He couldn’t do that, not to Jii, nor Aoko and Nakamori, not even his mother. Especially not to his own dad. He owed them all too much to just… give up like that. Even if it was horribly tempting at times like this.

Instead, he stood once more, turned, and activated his hang glider to head for the little house next door to Nakamori’s, inhabited by one Kuroba Kaito. It might not be the home he wanted, but it would do until he could return to the home he once knew.


	6. Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito is acting out of character. Hakuba does what he can to make things better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Eighth.
> 
> Before I say anything else, let me just apologize if I worried anyone yesterday. I was doing pretty badly, and I can't claim I'm at a hundred percent now, but it's definitely better. I think today's fic reflects that.
> 
> This can be read as a sequel to Home (hence the title), or as a standalone. Either way, please enjoy!

Kaito wasn’t the same these days. Less pranking, less acrobatics, less energy in general. And everyone in school had noticed. He could accept that from Aoko and even Hakuba (the bastard was a detective, and he respected his observational skills), but it was embarrassing that he couldn’t even keep up an act good enough to fool the rest of his classmates. They weren’t stupid, but they weren’t smart on Hakuba’s level and didn’t know him as well as Aoko.

He resisted the urge to sigh and continued following along in the textbook. The teacher’s wary glances had turned worried, and he knew he’d have to pull something soon or she’d keep him after class to ask about his home life again. Which would mean faking a smile, false assurances that he’d been staying up late playing video games, and the sharp jab of another reminder that no, his home life wasn’t okay, hadn’t been for over eight years.

Twenty minutes and one halfhearted round of hair dye later, Kaito had just finished packing his bag when Hakuba grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the room before he could protest.

He did, however, feel the need to comment when Hakuba resumed dragging him along after they retrieved their shoes. “Okay, is this about the hair dye?” he hissed, trying to ignore the looks they were getting. “Because I do that all the time.”

Hakuba glanced back at him as they passed the school gate. “No. And really, it’s not even permanent. You’re slipping.”

“Well maybe I didn’t feel like pissing off someone who knows how to hide a body. You know, trying something new.”

“Then you wouldn’t have pranked me at all. Which I do not believe for one second you would even consider.”

“Exactly! You’d get all suspicious, which might be funny but completely pointless if I was trying to be nice.”

Hakuba snorted and released him. “If you say so. We’re here.”

Kaito blinked at him, then at the ice cream shop in front of them. “Um. Okay. Why?”

“A friend of mine wanted to meet you. And before you think it, because you will, it has nothing to do with the Kaitou KID.”

Kaito didn’t have time to turn that over properly before being shoved into the shop, Hakuba close behind him. A high-pitched voice called to them from one of the booths.

Conan waved as Hakuba nudged an unresponsive Kaito toward him. “Hello, Edogawa-kun. It’s nice to see you again.”

“You too, Hakuba-niichan.” He turned curious eyes toward Kaito. “Is this your magician friend?”

“Indeed. May I introduce my classmate Kuroba Kaito, who as you already know is the son of Kuroba Toichi and Kuroba Chikage. Kuroba-kun, this is Edogawa Conan.” He elbowed Kaito when he failed to unfreeze.

Kaito jumped. “A-ah, nice to meet you.” He froze again at a sudden realization. Hakuba mentioned his parents. Meaning… what did that mean, exactly? It seemed important, but he couldn’t quite place it…

“Shinichi-niichan mentioned your family,” Conan said as Hakuba herded Kaito into the booth. “He said Yukiko-obasan” (there was a spark of mischief at the chosen title; Kaito stifled a snort) “took disguise lessons from your father. Hakuba recognized the name when I mentioned it and thought I might like to meet his son.”

Ah, that’s what it was. And it also explained Hakuba’s reassurance before they entered. This wasn’t cornering him with two detectives that suspected his identity, this was giving him a link to his smaller detective outside his night job. But… but that didn’t explain motive, and that was what he really wanted.

He turned to Hakuba, silently pleading for an explanation. Because Hakuba doing something _nice_ for him was so far outside of what he knew as normal it might as well have been on Pluto. Or Alpha Centauri.

Hakuba seemed to understand, from his softening expression and gentle tone. “You haven’t been yourself lately. And I thought seeing him might help.” He paused, adding almost as an afterthought, “After all, you do quite enjoy flummoxing me with your tricks, and Edogawa-kun hasn’t seen them all.”

He checked his watch and muttered what may have been a curse. “Sorry, can’t stay. I have another engagement. But have fun, will you? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”

“Ah, I…” Kaito raised a hand toward him, then lowered it when Hakuba vanished out the door. He didn’t even get to thank him. Then the last sentence registered, and he turned to a faintly disturbed Conan. “Erm… does he know about…” He held his hand above the table, then lowered it to about half the first height.

Conan blinked, then frowned, thinking. “I haven’t said anything, but it would explain a few things.” His face cleared, and he smiled at Kaito – not the smile of Edogawa Conan, cheerful and overcurious child, but that of Kudo Shinichi, hyperintelligent detective. “I doubt you meant to, but thank you for the confirmation. I’d hate to think Hakuba was actually wrong here, that would be awkward.”

What confirma- oh, of course. He’d as good as said he was KID by admitting he knew about the whole height issue. But seeing as he wasn’t being openly accused, and Hakuba had left before trying to gather any information he might let slip…

“So, want to talk about magic?” Kudo asked, still smiling, though the rest of the unspoken question was in that smile. _How can I be there for you?_

It was nice knowing he had a kindred spirit out there, someone who understood what it was like for half your life to be a secret. He grinned and pulled out a deck of cards.

That night, after he dropped Conan at Agasa’s with lighter spirits and a promise to meet up again at some point, he looked up at the gibbous moon and smiled.

It hurt to know he’d lost his perfect life so long ago, to admit he couldn’t reclaim the past, but it helped when he considered that he wouldn’t have met his detectives if not for those events. It didn’t replace what he’d lost, nothing ever would, but at least he wasn’t completely alone.

(In other news, he’d have to do something nice for Hakuba, to thank him for arranging that meeting. Preferably something that wouldn’t cause excessive paranoia.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (six days in and nobody's made a guess. looks like my idea wasn't too popular. but at least it's a good warmup exercise for NaNo. -u-)


	7. Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ran goes to find Shinichi and finds someone else with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Ninth.
> 
> Relevant info should all be in the story. This is a little choppy, but the point wasn't the plot for once. I just wanted an excuse to write fluff and I can't write plotless for the life of me. TuT

Knowing Shinichi’s secret made it a lot easier to find him. For example, when he said he was going to Agasa’s, she called him to check in (in case he actually was for once), then dropped by the Kudo residence. She ignored the eerie image of an unkempt lawn in the light of a waning gibbous moon, by now long over the whole ‘haunted house’ feel of it, and entered the house.

There was something about the air inside that kept her especially quiet, as though not to disturb… whatever it was. Not too quiet, though; she made some noise with the door and didn’t silence her footsteps, just let the slippers absorb what sound they would. No need to trigger Shinichi’s paranoia with a silent, unknown presence.

She went to the library, that being one of his favorite haunts, unsurprised to find him on the couch with a book. She was, however, surprised at the boy with his head in Shinichi’s lap, eyes closed and face peaceful as small fingers tangled in his hair.

Ran’s first impulse was to consider things someone her age might want with a small child they didn’t know, before firmly reminding herself that anyone questionable wouldn’t be able to earn Shinichi’s trust, and he wasn’t the helpless child he appeared to be. She’d seen him at KID heists, thank you. The big sister instincts were just hard to shake.

Her second was that the boy looked just like Shinichi, but with messier hair. And since he obviously wasn’t Shinichi (seeing as he was laying on top of said shrunken teenager), that meant he was a look-alike, and who did she know whose appearance was close enough to pass for Shinichi’s without makeup?

Not that she could be sure he wasn’t wearing any without a closer inspection, but C-Shinichi didn’t have even a trace of powder on his dark pants, and while it could just mean he sealed it well she liked the idea of Shinichi spending time with KID rather than some random stranger. Especially with them in such an intimate position.

Shinichi looked up at her and smiled. “Hi Ran. Didn't expect to see you today.”

She blinked. “Ah, hi. You didn’t leave a note?” It wasn’t meant to sound like a question, but it did.

He winced. “Sorry, forgot. Had to answer a call, helping a friend and all that.” He nodded at where he was still stroking the teenager’s hair.

Which reminded her. “Is that… KID?”

“It’s certainly not Kudo Shinichi.” She glared at him, and he laughed quietly. “Yeah, it’s KID. Try to keep it down though, I don’t think he’s been sleeping much lately.”

She hesitated, then nodded and took a seat on an armchair beside the couch. “So… he came to one of the people who tries to catch him regularly?”

“One of the only people who understands what he’s going through, at least partially,” he corrected. His eyes were soft as he looks down at the sleeping thief. “The secrets part at least. But… when I told you my identity, you were angry, then accepted everything after calling me a boneheaded idiot several times.”

“You deserved it. Thinking I wouldn’t want to talk to you after something like that.”

He smiled, sweet and gentle, but with a trace of darkness in the twist of his lips. “I know I deserved it. But… he still can’t tell his special person.” His eyes clouded with sadness. “It might only lead to pain for them both. Knowing someone close to you is secretly an internationally wanted thief is different from knowing your friend shrank and kept it secret for your protection.”

There was something else there, something that would make it that much worse, but she didn’t pry; it wasn’t her business. Neither did she offer reassurances that KID was widely revered for his moral code (and other more fangirlish things), because for all she knew that missing detail would negate it.

She reached to brush fingertips against his shoulder. “I’m glad you can be there for him. And… let me know if I can do anything, alright?”

Shinichi blinked, and there was a fair amount of Conan in his surprised look. “Really?”

“I can have a sense of morals not fully governed by law too, you know.” She smiled down at KID. “He’s a good person. He protects everyone at his heists, including the forces chasing him. And I know he’s saved your life several times.”

“Yeah.” He looked at the thief in his lap and snorted. “It’s a good thing Sonoko isn’t here. You know exactly what she would think about this.”

Ran’s smile stretched into a smirk. It wasn’t her fault he’d left such a good opening. “Don’t worry, Shinichi, I’d only complain if you didn’t let me watch.”

“R-Ran!”

Kaito’s eyes slid open a bit at the startled exclamation. He heard laughter – Ran’s, genuinely happy – and his sleep-hazy mind couldn’t quite process the situation. But he was warm, and Shinichi’s fingers were still combing through his hair, and he hadn’t felt so safe in a long time. So he smiled, and went back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Advance warning, there's a nonzero chance of me not getting to post a ficlet tomorrow. For anyone making guesses, you can still make another one if there's no new chapter by morning on the eleventh.


	8. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito's heater breaks in the middle of winter. Hakuba refuses to let him stay in a freezing cold house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Eleventh.
> 
> Congrats to dragonsmoker for the first correct guess! Request was: the heating system in the Kuroba house breaks and results in a sleepover with Hakuba. I hope this works! It got a bit longer than I meant it to. A very small bit. Really. And some feelings snuck in while I wasn't looking. 
> 
> I think Kaito and Hakuba are in a 'not friends' relationship here. Meaning the friends version of the 'not dating' trope where everyone but the characters realize they're dating.

Kaito huddled deeper in his pile of blankets, wishing he’d gone with the Nakamoris to… wherever they’d gone… when they first offered. He’d call and ask to stay in their house for the weekend, but Aoko would never let him hear the end of it, since he’d been  _ so sure _ that he could deal with the lack of a heater for a couple days. Never mind that there was a freak cold snap, she’d take any chance to tease him (and be justified for it; after all, he did the exact same thing to her).

So here he was, wearing his coat, a sweatshirt, and a t-shirt, buried under two or three layers of blankets, and still cold as ice. He honestly suspected that icicles might be growing in the corners of his room.

His phone rang. He jumped, then glared balefully at it where it sat smugly on his dresser, taunting him as it sat just out of reach. If he wanted to make sure it wasn't important, he would have to leave the sanctuary of his blanket cocoon for the chill of the outside air. 

His other option, of course, was risking Aoko’s wrath by not answering if it turned out to be her checking in on him. 

He groaned and squirmed out of the tangled blankets, shivering at the first touch of the air outside his shelter. He rolled out of bed, zipped to and from the dresser in record time, and returned to his cocoon, only to realize a good bit of the captured heat had already dissipated. And the caller was Hakuba.

He considered letting it ring to voice mail, then decided that as his current chill was due to the bastard's call, he might as well share in the misery. He accepted the call. “Whaddaya want, Hakuba?”

“...You sound upset. Did I wake you?”

“No. But I’m cold and it's your fault.”

“Wouldn't it be the fault of your broken heater?”

Of course Aoko told him. “Never mind. What did you want?”

“To ask whether you were doing alright in such cold weather. I can tell the answer is no.”

Kaito shifted, trying to find a comfortable position as the cold seeped into his limbs. Ugh, now it would take forever to get warm again. “Yeah, yeah, what do you expect, it’s freaking cold.”

There was a brief silence where Kaito wondered whether Hakuba would end the call and let him go back to being miserable in peace. Then he spoke again. “I’m coming over.” 

“Wait, what-” Beep. 

…

He hung up. Hakuba, ever-proper British detective, actually hung up on him in the middle of a conversation.

...Maybe he hallucinated the whole thing. Yeah, that was probably it. He should just huddle in his blankets and try to stay warm. The repairmen would arrive by tomorrow and all would be well. 

He had just managed to find a somewhat comfortable position despite his achy limbs when the doorbell rang. Great. After a moment’s temptation to just stay put this time, he wrapped his warmest comforter tight around himself and headed downstairs. 

Apparently the call wasn't a hallucination, and Hakuba meant what he said, because he was waiting outside when Kaito opened the door. He blinked at the detective silhouetted by the setting sun like something out of a cheesy romance movie and wondered again whether he wasn’t seeing things.

Hakuba waited patiently for a good minute before sighing when Kaito failed to react. “I don't know about you, but I would rather go inside where it’s warm than stand out in the cold.”

“Inside isn't any warmer,” Kaito said, more than a little dazed.

Hakuba grimaced.“Of course not. Put your shoes on, we're going to my house.”

Kaito blinked. “Wha?”

“Do you require assistance or clarification?”

He shook off his daze enough to answer. “Uh, no, I got it.” 

When he bent to pull his shoes on, the comforter around his shoulders slipped off. He made a sort of whimpering noise at the sudden rush of cold air. But before he could pick it up, a weight settled on his shoulders.

Kaito realized that Hakuba had wrapped him in his own heavy coat. He glared up at him. “Don’t baby me, I don’t need your pity.”

Hakuba stared back impassively. “If you catch a cold due to being chilled, I will also catch it as one of the people sitting near you in class. As I spent the day in a warm house and am less likely to get sick, it’s the most pragmatic decision to make sure you stay warm.”

He snorted. “Of course it’s only pragmatism.”

“You can give it back if you don’t want it.”

Kaito pulled the edges closer around his body and returned to the task of putting his shoes on. Hakuba smirked.

After a few minutes of fumbling to tie his shoes with frozen fingers, Kaito stood and stepped outside. “Well? What now?”

Hakuba raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the car idling at the gate. “We go to my house where you won’t catch pneumonia.” Kaito eyed him cautiously. “What?”

“Why are you being nice to me? Don’t say pragmatism, that’s a stupid excuse and we both know it.”

“It hardly matters, really. Unless you’d rather stay here without a heater.”

“I’m coming, already! Sheesh.”

Hakuba waved him into the back seat and got in after him, citing something about not arguing over shotgun. He barely noticed. He was too busy appreciating the inside of the heated car.

“Don’t forget your seatbelt.”

“Huh?” Kaito blinked slowly at Hakuba, who looked strangely amused. “Oh. Right.” He grabbed the seatbelt, stabbing at the buckle a few times before it clicked.

The drive to Hakuba’s house didn’t take too long. Kaito zoned through most of it while Hakuba shot him amused looks with a trace of concern. The idiot might be able to stand the cold, but it wasn’t especially good to expose oneself to extreme temperatures for long. 

Baaya pulled the car up as close to the door as possible and turned to the boys in the back seat. “Do you require assistance helping your friend inside?”

He looked at Kuroba’s closed eyes and resisted the urge to sigh. “No, I can manage. Though I would appreciate if you could make us some hot chocolate once you park.”

She nodded and waited for him to pull the sleepy teenager out of the car before driving away. Meanwhile, Kuroba made an unhappy noise and leaned most of his weight on Hakuba. “It’s cooooold,” he whined, burrowing into Hakuba’s neck.

The detective managed not to laugh as he began edging them toward the door. “Inside will be warmer. Come on.”

Kuroba blinked at him as the cold woke him a bit. He flushed and pulled away to stand on his own. “Right. Lead the way.”

“You know,” Hakuba commented as they approached the front entrance, “I’m probably colder than you right now. Seeing as you still have my coat.”

A pile of fabric landed on his head. “Then you can have it back. I don’t need it.”

Hakuba removed the fabric and opened the door, hanging the coat on a nearby rack. “I only meant to ask whether you realized you had some catlike tendencies when chilled.”

There was only silence for several seconds. He turned to see Kuroba looking at the ground, clearly uncomfortable. He frowned. The comment was meant to be a gentle jibe, not something actually hurtful. “Kuroba?”

He sighed and threw Hakuba a flat look. “I’m just a cuddly guy, okay? Can we drop it?”

“Of course.” No need to poke at a sensitive topic unnecessarily. “Shall we go to the living room? Baaya should have the hot chocolate done in a few minutes.” He led the way into the house, pretending not to notice Kuroba’s stunned expression.

There was a tray with two steaming mugs already on the coffee table when they arrived. Hakuba wasn’t sure how she’d managed it, but silently thanked Baaya for her swift delivery. Kuroba eyed the mugs appraisingly before turning to him. “I would've thought you’d be more of a tea person.”

“I am. But I’m not the one who tried to freeze himself and could most use a warm beverage.” He steered Kuroba to the couch and shoved a mug into his hands before he worked out whether to be annoyed or not. “Drink.”

Kuroba scowled at him for a moment before taking a large gulp of the drink. As he blinked and took another swallow, looking pleasantly surprised, Hakuba located the remote and pulled up Netflix, scanning for something to play in the background. Anything too detective-centric was out, which didn’t leave a lot of options…

“Give it here,” Kuroba said, snatching the remote and selecting the first movie that fit whatever criteria he was selecting for while Hakuba was still registering the lack of remote in his hand. He managed to refrain from making a thief crack, but it was a struggle.

They sat in silence as the movie played. Kuroba drained his drink, and Hakuba offered his own mostly full mug with a shrug and admission that he wasn’t that fond of chocolate anyway. Kuroba spent the next five minutes ranting about the wonders of chocolate until they realized the movie was still playing and reversed it to see what they’d missed. Then there was quiet for a while.

Hakuba only realized how late it was getting when the movie ended. He glanced out the window, observing the light of a gibbous moon that shouldn’t have risen until after he was in bed. He usually tried to keep to a decent sleep schedule outside of heist days.

But a look down at the weight on his shoulder reminded him of why he wasn’t moving. Kuroba had fallen asleep on him somewhere around the movie’s climax, and considering his (suspected) night job, Hakuba assumed he was a fairly light sleeper and didn’t want to move and risk waking him, especially when he probably needed the rest after being chilled all day.

Fortunately, Baaya came to check on them and quickly took stock of the situation. She nodded once and left, returning shortly with a blanket that she carefully draped over them before removing the hot chocolate tray. Hakuba resettled himself as best he could without jostling Kuroba and closed his eyes. 

 

Kaito woke up slowly, nuzzling into the warmth beneath him and wondering when he’d gotten a heated bed. His eyes flew wide open when he realized what - or rather, who - he was on top of.

Hakuba woke more quickly when Kaito bounced off him to the other side of the couch. He scowled at the reason he was no longer asleep, but his scowl changed to a puzzled frown as he examined the other’s reddening face. Then comprehension dawned. “I,” he said, voice still thick with sleep, “will not make a ‘sleeping with you’ joke. That would be a bit too crude for my tastes.”

This only served to deepen Kaito’s already brilliant blush. “We are not talking about this,” he hissed. “We are going to forget this ever happened and never mention it again.”

Hakuba shrugged and sat up properly. “If you say so. Can you stay for breakfast, or will the Nakamoris miss you?”

Kaito faltered at the lack of resistance, but recovered himself quickly enough. “They’ll be back this afternoon. I can stay for a while anyway.”

“Good. I don’t want you staying in that house more than necessary.”

Kaito blinked slowly, then nodded. “Okay. I don’t really want to stay there anyway, at least not until the repair people get there.”

“Then we are in agreement. Let’s see if Baaya is awake. She’ll be delighted to cook for someone outside the family again.”


	9. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi introduces Ran to Kaito, leading to a conversation about what they have in common.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Twelfth.
> 
> This was originally going to be a story where everyone thinks Kaito and Shinichi are dating, but they legitimately aren't - no denial or misunderstanding, just a close friendship that is 0% romantic. That right there is one of my favorite concepts. Platonic soulmates are a Thing for me and sometimes it shows.
> 
> However, apparently these guys weren't feeling it. So instead you get somewhat choppy explanations of their relationship. And I'm still not sure if I wrote Ran at all well. 
> 
> Also, Ran and Shinichi agreed to not date, at least for now, due to reasons that are touched on in story. Basically there's a bit of weirdness with the whole Conan thing that makes romance seem a dubious prospect, at least for now.

When Shinichi first suggested he introduce Kaito to Ran, her reaction was to ask how long they’d been dating.

He was glad he’d already swallowed his sip of coffee so he didn’t spit it out. As it was, he nearly choked on air. “How long we’ve _what?!_ ”

Ran rolled her eyes in a display of sisterly affection. “Been dating. You talk about him all the time, Shinichi, it’s not hard to figure out.”

He managed to calm down enough to answer coherently. “We’re not dating. I said I’d introduce my _friend,_ remember? Besides, if he were my boyfriend you would have met him ages ago.”

“Really.” She looked skeptical. “No sexuality crisis or worries about coming out?”

He gave her a longsuffering look. “Ran, if you can accept all the things that happened when I was” he held a hand at about waist height “I’m sure you could accept me dating another man. And we agreed to screen each other’s dates. I’ll still let you do that if I meet someone, but Kaito is not that someone.”

Her shoulders relax a little, betraying the nerves she’d felt. “If you’re sure, then. But from what you’ve said you seem awfully close for not dating.”

He smiles wryly. “Yeah, well, it’s complicated. We met during the whole Conan thing, and he. He understood, in a way nobody else could. Hattori’s great, don’t get me wrong, but he never had to live a lie. And before you ask, no, I can’t explain. Only he can, same as only I can tell his friends about Conan.”

It made sense, really, enough that she accepted it and agreed to let him arrange a meeting between them without further questions. Somehow she knew they were the wrong questions anyway.

 

Kaito insisted they have their meeting on a quarter moon night. Odd as it was, Shinichi figured he had a reason, and Ran didn’t have any conflicts, so they arranged to meet in a small park at around eleven PM.

They found Kaito standing on a bench with his hands tucked in his pockets, gazing up at the moon. “Pretty, isn’t she?” he asked without turning around. “I like the full moon well enough, but her other major phases are just as lovely, and often underappreciated. Especially the two quarters.”

Ran looked up at it thoughtfully. “I never really thought about it, but that’s true. And the quarter moons have an interesting two-faced look to them.”

He looked over his shoulder at them, grinning face silhouetted by moonlight. “Exactly what I was thinking! You’re quite a perceptive person, Mouri-san.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes, smiling indulgently. “Enough of the theatrics already.”

“But theatrics are in my genetics!” Kaito protested, spinning to face them and hopping off the bench. He grinned at Ran and held out a hand, summoning a daffodil. “Kuroba Kaito, magician, at your service.”

She smiled and accepted the flower. “Nice to meet you. Mouri Ran, student. I seem to be the only one without a title.”

“Try karate champion,” Shinichi suggested, garnering an impressed whistle from Kaito.

Ran blushed. “Thanks. So, what is it about the quarter moon that’s so important? Not to say it isn’t pleasant out here, but it seems like a strange request.”

Kaito looked back up at the moon. “You said it yourself. The moon has two faces. And that’s what me and Shinichi share.”

“Because you both have secrets?”

“Yes and no. Each of us is one face of the moon, but we take part in the other as well. One hiding a secret to move freely and expose secrets,” he nodded at Shinichi, “and one maintaining the illusion of freedom and creating mysteries to find a secret.” His smile went a little sad. “Not the best metaphor, but you understand. He sinks into the shadows to hide his true identity while I am most concealed in the brightest spotlights.”

Shinichi frowned. “You do realize she’s a detective’s daughter, right?”

Kaito made a motion with his wrist. Shinichi sighed and nodded, not saying another word. Meanwhile, Ran was putting together the clues and getting… She looked Kaito squarely in the eye. “Are you sure you should be telling me this?”

He shrugged, looking completely at ease. “Worst case, you accuse me of something I have alibis for. That’s alibis plural. And I trust this detective’s judgement.”

“Not the others’?”

Kaito’s grin went sharp – a definite KID grin, and all the evidence Ran needed to support her theory, even without his next words. “Tantei-han is a little too impulsive, and tantei-san has some issues with adhering to the law too much. He’s gotten better since meeting me, but only somewhat.”

She almost didn’t ask the next question, but now she was curious. “Then… does he know…?”

Kaito blinked, then started laughing. Or more like cackling. And then he choked a bit. Shinichi just sort of watched him with a blank stare as Ran looked on with some concern. But he managed to sort himself out quickly enough, taking a few quick breaths and clearing his throat. “Sorry,” he managed. “It’s just that, well, Hakuba’s been accusing me since days after we met. Asking if he knows kind of…”

“Misses the point?”

He held up two fingers pinched close together, still grinning. “Juuuuuust a bit.”

Ran laughed a little, though she wasn’t all that amused. Mostly because she’d had a thought that she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to. Darn her father and childhood friend for infecting her with detective curiosity. “So… right now, am I talking to Kuroba-kun or KID?”

Kaito’s smile didn’t falter, exactly, but it did become less bright without him moving his lips. “Both, I suppose. He’s a part of me as I’m part of him.” He nodded at Shinichi. “I’m guessing he’d know a thing or two about that.”

“It’s a good way to describe it,” Shinichi said thoughtfully. “I’m not really Conan, since Conan was an act. But he’s still part of me after living as him for so long.”

“Exactly!” Kaito beamed. Then he turned to Ran with an apology in his eyes. “I’m afraid it’s not the best metaphor for those who haven’t lived a second life, though.”

She shook her head. “No, don’t worry. I think I understand as well as anyone can without experiencing it.” After all, she’d lived alongside Shinichi growing up, then Conan for a few years as Shinichi worked on his case. Yet knowing the truth, she could make out Conan in Shinichi as clearly as she’d once seen Shinichi in Conan.

You don’t live a mask without some of it sticking when removed. Shinichi and Kaito saw that in each other, the blurring lines between two lives, and they understood when nobody else could.

So Ran smiled and laughed at Kaito’s bizarre sense of humor, and didn’t say another word about the oddity of their relationship.


	10. Paternal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito performs a heist with a cold. Nakamori is less than impressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Thirteenth.
> 
> Congratulations to Garnet_Crows for guessing right! Request was Nakamori worrying about injured/sick/exhausted/etc. Kaito or KID. So naturally this one contains some of both, though it focuses mainly on KID. Kaito gets a chunk at the end though. And for a story where Nakamori gets annoyed at KID, there's a surprising lack of yelling. Anyway, hope this fits more or less what you were hoping for!
> 
> This can be read as Nakamori suspecting KID's identity or not, it's pretty open to interpretation. And if you really want you can probably catch some name choice hints at people's mental states. Or play spot the dark theme, there's always one somewhere in my works. Not on purpose but it usually happens. -u-
> 
> I'm officially giving up on my word limit for this challenge. Mostly because it only existed to make sure I didn't spend too much time writing this month, and the stories that went over the limit were inspired enough to take less time anyway. :P
> 
> And with that, enjoy the story!

Kaito resisted a sneeze for the umpteenth time that evening. Great. This day couldn’t get any better. First he’d caught a cold while exhausted from pre-heist preparations. So he stayed home from school to rest up for the KID heist, knowing he’d regret going in his condition. This led to Aoko banning him from the heist completely, which wouldn’t have been a problem if his plans hadn’t included the presence of one Kuroba Kaito in the crowd. So he had to overhaul the whole thing, and now he was sitting in a vent getting chilled while he waited for the heist to start. For once, he just wanted to get it over with so he could go home.

A tiny beep in his ear signaled the time for him to make an appearance. With skill and reflex guiding him more than conscious thought, he tossed a smoke capsule toward the display and darted out in the confusion.

When the smoke cleared, every eye turned to the familiar figure in white perched atop the glass display case like some sort of bird of prey. KID smirked at the mental image and straightened. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!”

There was a mix of cheering and raging. KID grinned at his fans, surveying the task force until his eyes landed on Nakamori. His smile dimmed a bit. Nakamori was frowning in a displeased fashion, but it was… less his usual ‘DAMN THAT THIEF!’ sort of anger and more a subtle concern.

The key being that it was unusual, and not in a way KID felt confident in understanding. So he focused his attention on the heist instead. Snag the gem, dodge the attempted dog pile, slip out a side entrance while everyone was busy realizing he wasn’t there anymore. Really, things were far too easy without his detectives around. Not that he was complaining about their absence tonight; with the state he was in, they might actually have caught him.

KID made it to the roof, where a fat crescent moon shone down on him. He held the gem up to the light and sighed. Not Pandora, what a surprise.

Unfortunately that sigh set off another coughing fit, this one much more phlegmy and gross than some of his others. “Ugh,” he said, voice rough and throat clogged with gunk. Plus his nose was stuffed up.

Come to think of it, he probably sounded weird. No wonder Nakamori had looked concerned; KID was a showman, he never had trouble speaking loud and clear. So he must have-

He caught the projectile lobbed at his head on pure instinct, looking down in surprise at a pocket pack of tissues, then back with an equal amount of surprise at Nakamori.

The man tucked his hands in his pockets and took on a neutral stance. “Sounded like you could use some.”

While true, it seemed odd that Nakamori would offer him tissues rather than try to chase him. But he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He pulled out a tissue and blew his nose, carefully folding it and tucking it in a pocket for later disposal before offering the pack back.

Nakamori shook his head. “You need them more than I do right now. Especially if you’ve got the same thing Kaito-kun does. Poor kid nearly coughed up a lung earlier.”

KID chuckled weakly. “This year’s cold is a nasty one, eh, kei-” It was at this point that he demonstrated the ‘nearly coughed up a lung’ portion of the cold.

When he regained enough control of his breathing to be aware of his surroundings, he registered dimly that someone was pounding on his back. And words, there were words. “-do that, geez kid, why the hell are you holding a heist instead of at home resting?”

“Wasn’t this bad earlier,” he panted. His day of rest had actually made him feel a lot better. Calm before the storm, clearly. Then he registered that he had Nakamori’s hand on his back meaning that they were _way too close considering he was KID at the moment_ and of course his moment of panic triggered another coughing fit.

“Easy there,” Nakamori said, voice tinged with concern as he pulled the thief to sit against the fence and knelt to one side so he could continue rubbing his back. The position placed the moon at their backs, keeping their faces in shadow. Kaito was glad of the extra protection.

Not that it would do much good if Nakamori decided to try and see his face. And really, why hadn’t he already unmasked him, or at least pulled out a pair of handcuffs? Come to think of it, that wasn’t the only odd thing about this conversation, and he could ask about the other without as much concern of giving Nakamori ideas. He raised his head so the inspector could make out his puzzled expression. “Why did you call me kid?” It hadn’t been his title, that much he was sure of, but that implied…

Nakamori blinked, then looked slightly sheepish. “Ah. You heard, did you?” He sighed and pulled away to sit on the ground. There was a beat of silence. “I’m not as stupid as people think, you know.”

Kaito stared at him. “Of course not. You keep up with me, after all.”

“Yeah, well, you remember the incident with Delon. Keeping up is relative. But that’s not the point.” He focused a sharp gaze on Kaito. “The point is, I can tell the difference between the Kaitou KID from eight years ago, and the one right now.”

Kaito’s eyes widened. He tensed, ready to bolt, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. If Nakamori had grabbed his arm he would have pulled free and fled, but he didn’t – just rested his hand there, easy to shake off yet reassuring all the same.

“I doubt anyone else noticed,” Nakamori said, keeping his voice soft. “Maybe some of the other old task force members. But since none of ‘em have come to me with the information, they won’t go telling anyone else. Still, get close enough and it’s pretty obvious you aren’t forty. Makeup can only do so much in either direction.”

Kaito huffed a little. Then frowned. “Did you know when tantei-san did that analysis?”

“…Doesn’t much matter. You breathing again?”

Huh. He was, actually. Nakamori grinned. “Think about something else. Works darn well to fight back a cough.”

“Clever.” Thinking about it too much brought back the tickle in his throat, but he was good enough at ignoring discomfort that he could push the sensation out of his thoughts for the moment. He pulled himself to his feet, only leaning on the fence a little bit. “I have one more question before I leave.”

Nakamori moved as if to offer help, then pulled back and stood without getting close again. A confused look passed over his face at those words, though the emotion wasn’t audible when he spoke. “Alright, lay it on me.”

“Why are you helping me, instead of trying to catch me while you have the chance?”

There was a pause during which neither party betrayed any emotion.

Nakamori sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Had to be a hard one, huh? …Simple enough answer though. Whatever’s important enough that a man disappears for it, and a teenager takes his place years later, is too important to be stopped by a cold. Besides… you remind me of one of my kids.”

Kaito’s eyes widened. One of…? “I thought you only had a daughter,” he said, tone curious to hide the emotions those words evoked.

Nakamori chuckled lightly. “Aoko’s my only child by blood, but Kaito-kun is as much family as her in most ways. He’s a good kid, even if he takes the pranks too far at times. And anyone who reminds me of him? I can’t see them being a bad person.” He paused and pointed fiercely at the boy in front of him. “That doesn’t mean I won’t still try to catch you once you’re healthy again!”

“Wouldn’t expect any different.” Kaito’s grin nearly split his face in two, and it wasn’t all KID. He hopped onto the fence and activated his glider. “Well, until next time, keibu.”

Nakamori grinned back. “Right back at you, thief. And no more heists when you’re sick, got it?”

KID rolled his eyes, grin never losing its shine. “Whatever you say, _dad_ ,” he said with the appropriate level of sarcasm before hopping off the fence and sailing away into the night.

Nakamori watched him sail away into the night. “Crazy thief,” he murmured, briefly fingering the gem that had materialized in his pocket before turning to head back inside.

 

It was several hours after the heist ended when Nakamori finally made it home. He briefly checked in on Aoko – fast asleep in her room, leftovers in the microwave to reheat – before heading next door to check on his other charge.

Kaito was sprawled out on the couch, the play screen of some movie running endless loops on the TV. An empty carton of chocolate ice cream with a sticky note admonishing him not to eat the whole thing sat on the coffee table beside a spoon and a mug that had once contained tea. Aoko had clearly been by already.

Kaito stirred when Nakamori turned the TV off, blinking bleary eyes up at him. “Nnn… Occhan?”

“Shh,” he said, brushing a hand through the boy’s hair. “Sleep.”

He looked to be considering it for a moment before pushing himself upright. “Nah, awake now. Can I…” He hesitated, like he wasn’t sure his request was worth asking.

Which made it easy enough to guess what it was. “C’mon,” he said, helping Kaito climb to his feet. “Sleepover in our living room. We still have instant hot chocolate.”

Kaito yawned through his smile and followed him out, slipping on a pair of yard shoes for the brief passage between houses. “Hot chocolate sounds great.”

Nakamori left him to pick a movie while he prepared the chocolate, offering Kaito a mug and wrapping the boy in a blanket. He ignored Kaito’s whining about the mothering; he was still sick, and keeping warm was important when you were sick.

Or something like that. He wasn’t a doctor. Just a father who’d had to deal with sick brats countless times over the years, the one in front of him included. (And now apparently a certain thieving brat as well. The things you get into sometimes.)

Parental instincts humored, he settled down to watch whatever movie Kaito had chosen. And when a warm weight curled up close at his side, he didn’t say a word, just draped an arm over the blanket-wrapped form.

And when Aoko silently offered him a hot pack for his aching back after a night of sleeping on the couch, he couldn’t say he regretted it.


	11. Phase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito comes across a pair of detectives arguing about moon phase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted October Fourteenth.
> 
> This is what happens when I let an idea run free. Seriously, the heist note thing came out of nowhere. And these do get a little more random than lead-to-idea sorts of writing. Ah well, tell me what you think.
> 
> On a mostly unrelated note, would it be better to post something slightly soul-crushing on a Sunday or a Monday? This is a serious question. I need to make a decision and your answers would really help.

“But it’s too fat, right? There’s gotta be another word.”

“No, there really isn’t. It’s still a crescent even if it’s fat. And I didn’t name it so why are you arguing with me?!”

“Because there’s no way that’s a crescent moon!”

“It is a crescent moon, stop being stubborn about stupid things!”

Kaito paused in his leisurely stroll at the sound of familiar voices. He turned to see who it could be.

…Tantei-kun and tantei-han? Er, Edogawa Conan and Hattori Heiji? (He chided himself internally – even mentally, mixing up speech patterns was dangerous when a slip-up could get him arrested. At least it could if Hattori figured it out; his secret was already safe with Kudo.) What were they doing out in Ekoda?

More important, why were they arguing about the moon phase? Assuming he heard that correctly.

Conan looked up at that moment and met his eyes. A flash of surprise passed through his expression before turning to childish excitement. He grabbed Hattori’s wrist and began dragging him across the park, waving wildly. “Kaito-niichan! I got a question for you!”

Kaito schooled his expression into something bemused rather than the KID-like amusement that threatened to leak through his mask. “Good to see you again, Conan. Who’s your friend? And what brings you out this way? Ekoda is a little far from your usual stomping grounds.”

Hattori pulled free of Conan’s grasp and grinned at Kaito. “Hattori Heiji, detective. Didn’t know Ku-Conan knew anyone around here, aside from…” His expression soured.

Ah. That explained it. “Kuroba Kaito, magician. I’m guessing you mean Hakuba. You’ve met on cases a few times, right?”

“Yeah. Sucks, but sometimes the bastard’s got the tools we need to catch a criminal.” His irritation melted into curiosity. “What about you? How’d you meet Conan?”

Hm, bit of an awkward question. There was the clock tower, and the skyscraper, but those weren’t the official answer. What was it again…?

“We met at a KID heist!” Conan chirped. “Kaito-niichan’s a really good magician, plus he knows the head of the task force, so sometimes they ask him for help figuring out what KID’s gonna do.”

Right, that was it. “Yup, and I’m actually right some of the time. KID’s too slippery to predict reliably, besides being a way better magician than me. No matter what Hakuba thinks.” That last was said in a low grumble.

Hattori blinked. “You’re… offended he complimented you?”

Whoops. Ah well, might as well be honest if he was gonna know anyway. At least Hattori would be disinclined to agree with anything Hakuba said. “No, he just started accusing me of being KID after being in my class for a couple weeks. He claims to have evidence of some sort, but come on. I wasn’t even _born_ when KID first appeared!”

Hattori snickered, clearly agreeing with Kaito’s portrayal of how ridiculous the notion was. “Let me guess, he thinks you took over the job after KID’s hiatus.”

“Best I can tell. Lucky me, this kid,” he ruffled Conan’s hair, much to the short detective’s annoyance, “managed to make him back off a bit. Don’t know what he did, but he managed it.”

“Way to go, Ku-Conan!” Wow, and Kaito thought his name mix-ups were bad. At least he managed to keep it internal most of the time.

In any case, Conan brushed it off with an eye roll and turned his bright smile on Kaito again. “Say, can you help us solve our argument?”

“Depends. What is it?”

He pointed at the bright morning sky, specifically at the moon that still hadn’t set. “What phase of the moon is that?”

Kaito didn’t even have to look. He needed to know these things for his night job. “Crescent moon, two days past third quarter. Why?”

Conan turned a triumphant grin on Hattori. “See?”

Hattori scowled and bopped him on the head. “Shut up, ya smug little-”

“Hey, don’t hit Conan!” Kaito protested, pulling on his best Ran scowl. “What kind of detective goes around hitting kids? Who are you, Mouri?”

Hattori blinked at Kaito, who kept his expression stern through years of practice acting, and Conan, whose smug expression currently outweighed the giggles threatening to burst forth. “Uh, well, he’s kind of a special case…” His voice trailed off at Kaito’s raised eyebrow. “Anyway! You’re telling me it’s always a crescent moon, even right after the quarter when it doesn’t look like a crescent at all?”

Kaito recognized a desperate subject change when he saw one, but he decided to go with it. His poker face might’ve broken if he’d had to keep that act running any longer. (Not hitting kids, indeed…) “Yep. The shape’s still a crescent, even if the inside curve is barely a curve. It’s easier to keep track of that way, right?”

“Eh, I guess.”

Something tickled Kaito’s memory, and he felt a smile spread across his face. “Say, Conan… wasn’t that first meeting of ours the one where I had to help solve the heist note?” It definitely was. He would forever remember that incident. They’d been at it for over a week and would have missed the heist if he hadn’t lent a hand. To solve his own riddle. Conan and Hakuba had been mortified, though of course everyone else thought it was because they’d needed help from a KID fan.

Conan looked confused, then uncomfortable as realization dawned. “…Maybe?”

“And wasn’t the clue you detectives missed the one about a fat crescent moon?”

Hattori gave Conan an incredulous look. “Seriously? And you’re giving me a hard time about this? KID riddles are supposed to be your thing!”

“Shut up and let me wallow in embarrassment in peace,” Conan grumbled.

“Only if you drop the phase thing.”

“Deal.”

Kaito smirked, then glanced up as he spied a familiar head of blond hair in the corner of his vision. “I spy with my little eye a British detective coming this way, so I’m gonna jet before something he’ll regret happens. Hope to see you around!”

“Wait,” Hattori blurted, making Kaito pause. “Next heist, wanna stick with me and rag on Hakuba? It would give you an alibi, and you seem like a nice enough guy.”

Kaito blinked in surprise at the offer, then shrugged and gave him a little smirk. “It won’t help. I spent a whole heist handcuffed to Hakuba once and he still thinks I’m KID. Though I may take you up on that anyway.” And he zipped off before Hakuba could catch sight of him.


	12. Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An officer eavesdrops on a conversation between detective and thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Fifteenth.
> 
> Warnings are in the ending notes to avoid spoilers for those who'd rather not read them.
> 
> Look at that, I didn't leave it to the last minute. Shocked gasp. Thanks to the people who voted, I'm posting this today. (I know it's Monday already in some parts of the world, but I can only do so much. :P)1
> 
> Anyway, I don't want to say too much, but this is a bit dark. Not as dark as it could have been, but it is dark, and it doesn't really get better. You have been warned.

It was a well-known fact that the Kaitou KID and his diminutive pursuer often had moonlight conversations on rooftops. If you were very careful and planned ahead of time, you could conceal yourself well enough to eavesdrop on these conversations.

That was exactly what one police officer was doing this particular heist, concealed from the light of a crescent moon by an AC unit. It wasn’t the best coverage, but hopefully it would be enough.

KID made his appearance on the roof with a literal bang, smoke spilling out from the open stairwell door. Edogawa followed a moment later with a lot more coughing. “Seriously?” he groaned once the coughing died down. “That wasn’t even a good trap, doesn’t slow anyone down or anything. Just causes laryngitis.”

KID looked back over his shoulder, gem still held up to the sky. “But it did expose the faulty fire alarms. Which I was attempting to activate, so you know. I’ll fix the altered sprinklers once everyone goes home. Now.” He tucked the gem in his pocket and turned back. “What can I do for you?”

Edogawa blinked, then smiled, a not especially happy look. “We know each other too well, don’t we.”

“It has its uses though, you must admit.”

“True.” The not-happy smile faded to something more neutral. “We need new lives.”

“You and ojou-san, I assume.” He sighed gustily. “It hasn’t been that long this time.”

“The next-door murderer may have blown our cover a bit.”

“Never a dull moment, eh tantei-kun?” KID chuckled. It was a strangely apathetic sound considering the thief’s penchant for showboating. His next words sounded different from his usual voice, in a way the unseen observer couldn’t quite place. “I’ll get right on it. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to be my little siblings for a while?”

“That would force you to move, though. You’re still safe.”

KID’s smile went the slightest bit strained. “It isn’t just for your sake.”

“…You tried again.”

The thief turned away, not meeting Edogawa’s eyes as the child’s expression shifted through incredulity and anger into pained sympathy. “You know as well as I do that only makes it worse.”

“I know.”

There was a long silence.

“…I’ll ask her. But you already know my answer. You’ve done so much for us… if this is what I can do, I will.”

KID continued to look away, but there was honest relief in his soft “Thank you.”

Then the mask returned, and he smiled brightly. “Well, it’s been fun, but I should get going. Shall we call it a tie?”

“Eh, sure. Shake things up a little.” He caught the gem tossed his way like he’d done it countless times already, tucking it into a pocket. “When can I expect to hear from you? So I can warn the trigger-happy one.”

“This week. On the count of shaking things up, how bad an idea would coming as myself be?”

“How long has it been?”

KID paused, tilting his head. “Hm. I can’t quite recall.”

“Then it’s fine. Just don’t style your hair, last time you gave us both a heart attack.”

“I promised not to do that again. Are you doubting my word?”

“Just your memory.” The smirk that had grown on Edogawa’s face during the brief banter faltered before changing to something softer. “And KID?”

“Yes, tantei-kun?” KID had the look of someone who knew the next words, but was waiting with bated breath to hear them nonetheless.

“Thank you. For being here. I think… without you, I’m not sure I’d be sane anymore.”

KID laughed, a cheery sound that had no place alongside a smile that pained. “I’m not sure I ever was, but I’d be much worse if not for you. So thank you too, tantei-kun.”

Edogawa made a stilted movement, one hand reaching for the opposite arm, freezing briefly before allowing himself to clasp fingers around his wrist. “Maybe neither of us are sane anymore. You aren’t the only one who’s tried, even if… even if it never works.”

KID’s eyes were drawn to the movement. For a fraction of a second, his mask slipped, and the darkness and desperation there were terrifying. Their observer wondered, for the first time, not what motivated the thief to steal, but what motivated him to keep going at all.

What was worse was that he could see an echo of that emotion in the face of the child in front of KID. And seeing that on someone so young, at least in appearance if not maturity, was heartrending.

The mask slammed back down, then, and KID turned away. “I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

Edogawa lowered his eyes to the ground. “Whenever you can. I’ll be waiting.”

And he turned to head down the stairs as KID activated his glider and flew away.

Later, listening to the recording while simultaneously reading the description given by one of his brighter officers, Inspector Ueda Rikuto, fifth head of the KID task force, wondered not for the first time what on Earth those two were. Over a century since the start of their rivalry and they remained completely unchanged as the people around them faded with the passage of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for implied suicide attempts and past character deaths.
> 
>  
> 
> If this made you sad, don't think about it too much. There's a lot of stuff that doesn't come into play because this is an outsider's POV.  
> That said, if you read through to the end and feel vaguely like you've been punched in the stomach, I probably did my job right.
> 
> If you read it and you're confused, let me know.


	13. Mirror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito and Shinichi switch places for a day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Sixteenth.
> 
> Congrats to illusionary for guessing right! Request was Kaito and Shinichi disguising as each other and taking each other's places for a day. Let me know if this fits what you wanted. It got... strange? I don't know, it feels a little odd to me. Might just be me looking at it too much. 
> 
> (In other news, last chapter didn't get much attention. I have to admit I'm surprised, I'd expected more people being upset at me. :P)

“Don’t forget my science worksheet, we did a lab yesterday and someone might ask about it.”

“Already packed. And I saw your notes, I hope you don’t expect me to copy your handwriting.”

“Hakuba’s the only one who would notice something that trivial. And let’s be honest, he’s gonna know something’s up anyway.”

“Not your other friend?”

“Aoko’s perceptive, but she’ll probably just brush it off as me being weird.”

“If you say so. I’m not the best actor, if you recall.” Shinichi closed the school bag and turned to look in the mirror. Kaito came to stand next to him, grinning. It was highly unsettling to see that KID-esque look on what appeared to be his face. More so to see his own slightly uneasy expression on what looked like Kaito’s face.

“Amazing what a bit of hair product can do,” Kaito-as-Shinichi remarked. “We really do look alike, huh?”

Shinichi-as-Kaito wasn’t quite as confident. “But we don’t act alike.”

Kaito’s smile fell. “Do you really not want to do this?”

“It’s not that I – well, it is, but it isn’t.” He sighed and resisted the impulse to run a hand through his hair. All that effort making his telltale cowlick blend in was not going to waste now. “We both could use the break from our problems. I’m just worried about how it might affect us.” They both knew about the pain putting on an act could cause. What was the point of this whole thing, if it just hurt them more?

Thankfully, Kaito understood. “If it doesn’t help, we don’t do it again. It’s that simple.”

As much as he felt it shouldn’t have, that reassured Shinichi immensely. “Thanks, Kaito.”

“Anytime. Now we’d better hurry before we’re late to each other’s schools!”

Hakuba was watching him. Shinichi had spent enough time with his justified paranoia to notice when someone’s eyes stayed on him a little too long, and Hakuba was definitely watching him. He didn’t even try to convince himself that it was the ‘you are secretly KID and I will prove it’ sort of watching Kaito had warned him about. Especially not when Hakuba approached at lunch and leaned over to whisper, “Is there a particular reason you are pretending to be Kuroba?”

Shinichi didn’t even blink. “How obvious is it?”

“Not very, which is surprising given your acting skills in the past. I would have appreciated a warning, however, so I could at least warn you in return that letting him take your place for a day is a dangerous prospect. Unless there’s some reason you think otherwise.”

Shinichi looked down at the doodles he’d been pretending to draw and held back a sigh. “It’s easier to live someone else’s problems than your own. Kuroba Kaito isn’t worried about Ran finding out where her childhood friend went for a few years, except for the sake of his friend’s emotional state. And vice versa for him.”

Hakuba winced. “Ah. My apologies for breaking the illusion.” He looked around, considering. “If you need a few minutes, I know K- er, I would be willing to keep anyone from following you to the roof. Since you seem to like going there to think.”

Which would let him be Kaito without worrying about who noticed his slipups. “Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks.”

“No need for thanks. Consider it an apology for past accusations.”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow, in perfect Kaito form. “And you're not gonna start accusing me again tomorrow?”

“I make no promises.”

He rolled his eyes and grabbed his stuff. The red haired girl Kaito had warned him about tried to follow, but Hakuba intercepted. He didn't stick around to see how the interaction played out.

 

“How long did it take you to realize?”

Hakuba glanced over at where Aoko was chatting with her other friends, unaware of the swap. “I knew as soon as he arrived.”

“How?” The look in Akako’s eyes told him she’d already guessed the answer.

He told her anyway. “Kuroba’s never that relaxed anymore.”

 

Shinichi wasn't sure why Ran kept giving him funny looks. He wasn’t acting any different from normal, as far as he could tell. Not that Kaito knew any better than his current persona. His Shinichi impression was flawless. (He knew this because of a video incident back when Shinichi was Conan. The detective still refused to admit it had happened.)

Still, the funny looks were definitely happening, regardless of whether he knew why, and it was putting him on edge. Which made it hard to fall into character. When he felt eyes on his back again, he turned to her with the flattest Shinichi look he could muster. “Why do you keep staring at me? Is my shirt inside out or something?”

She started, then looked embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was doing it that much.”

Kaito waited for an explanation. She didn’t seem about to give one. He sighed. “Are you going to explain?”

“Huh? Oh.” She hesitated, eyes darting around, before blurting, “Did something happen recently?”

He blinked. “Huh?”

“You’re acting… happier, I guess. Not that that’s a bad thing!” she added quickly. “It’s good, it’s really good, but I… I guess I’m surprised? You haven’t been the same since you came back.”

Of course he hadn’t, he’d been keeping secrets from her that whole time. But he wasn’t about to say that. “Nothing particular. Guess it’s just been a good day.”

“Oh, okay.” Her smile was relieved. He wasn’t entirely sure what she’d been thinking, but he was glad to have assuaged her worries. “Did you want to join me for lunch? I know you usually prefer to eat alone, but if you’re having a good day…”

Eep. She looked so hopeful he almost didn’t turn her down, but that wouldn’t be fair to the actual Shinichi. Instead, he put on his best apologetic look. “Sorry, I think I’d rather keep myself company.”

Her face fell, and he immediately felt bad. But she brightened again almost immediately. “That’s fine. I’ll just find Sonoko. You do what you have to, okay?” And with a last beaming smile, she ran off to presumably do just that.

Kaito watched her leave, momentarily uncertain as to how he should react. Then he shrugged it off – he was Shinichi right now. Shinichi was often oblivious when it came to emotions. So he opened his lunch and dug in, looking out the window as though lost in thought.

 

“But he should tell you if something’s happened,” Sonoko protested. “You two always shared everything before. Why is this different?”

Ran smiled feebly. “Sonoko, this is the most like himself I’ve seen him since he first vanished. I don’t want to pry if it means I could lose him again.”

Sonoko looked her over, eyes narrowed, then sighed and relaxed. “If that’s really what you want. I still say you should smack the answers out of him. Or maybe use your feminine charm to-”

“Sonoko!”

 

They met up again at the Kudo mansion, same as that morning. Kaito arrived to find Shinichi sprawled on the couch, arm draped over his eyes to block the quarter moon's light, and still wearing his ‘disguise’ (if you could really call it that). He dropped his bag by the couch and sat beside him. “Well?”

“Hakuba noticed. Koizumi noticed. Nakamori-san didn’t.”

“Ran wanted to know if something happened to make you happier than usual.”

Shinichi snorted, a smile crossing his face that wouldn’t meet his eyes if they were visible. “We’re better at being each other than ourselves, aren’t we?”

Kaito sighed and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. “Seems so. But does it count if it’s our old selves? They aren’t exactly us anymore, not after everything.”

“Maybe not.”

There was a long silence. Shinichi’s arm slid to lay at his side so he and Kaito mirrored each other, still wearing each other’s skins.

“We’re going to do this again, aren’t we.”

“Yeah.”


	14. Fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito is caught off guard by his worst fear. The detectives help him through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Seventeenth.
> 
> I hate flu season. With a vengeance. :)  
> I'm not sick, that isn't the reason. It's because there are so many encouraging reminders to get your flu shot everywhere, including a YouTube ad of happy people going in to get their shot. (Censored my original descriptor for the sake of anyone else who can't handle this stuff.) So have some Kaito dealing with his phobia. I suppose it's sort of a vent fic, though it didn't really work. Still spending lots of time curled in a blanket to protect myself from... I don't even know. Aren't irrational fears great? :)
> 
> The panic attack bits were based on personal experience, but the help given was researched via the internet so I don't know how accurate it is. And in case you hadn't guessed, this isn't a funny one. I won't get up in arms about those who do write funny fics about Kaito and fish, it's played for laughs canonically after all, but I won't write them myself. And just a quick warning, the end isn't all that satisfying. 
> 
> For the record, Hakuba and Conan don't know Kaito's ichthyophobic. Anything else is basically up to interpretation.
> 
> Look at that, it's the seventeenth already. About halfway through the month. Well, halfway through this challenge, since I started on the third. Whoops.

KID always prepared for just about anything that could happen during a heist, especially when his detectives showed up. Being prepared for whatever problems might arise was a major part of his job. Naturally, he was confident as ever that this heist would go just fine, but precautions were always smart.

Some time before the hour in his note, KID stood concealed by the crowd admiring Amphitrite’s Crown (a tiara set with a well-cut piece of aquamarine and an assortment of pearls and smaller semi-precious stones) on its glass throne, set for effect in a U-shaped ring of water tanks clearly built for this exact purpose. Glass walls stretched from floor to ceiling, decorated with colorful patterns and interspersed with slim golden pillars.

(He didn’t pretend to understand the tastes of the ridiculously rich, okay. He was a thief, not an interior decorator or wealthy socialite.)

The time of the heist approached rapidly. With only a few minutes to spare, the target’s owner stepped up beside his extravagant display and beamed out at the crowd. “Welcome, everyone! Including the Kaitou KID, of course. I hope you’ve enjoyed the night so far. However, this is only the start! I have a special display planned for the moment of KID’s arrival.” He leaned over to whisper to the irritated inspector, loud enough to be picked up by the mic in Nakamori’s collar. “Not to worry, it won’t interfere with your plans. Just a mild light show.”

_Light show, huh?_ KID thought, discreetly adjusting his earpiece. It was a good thing he wasn’t planning on using darkness today. He often avoided that tactic anyway when tantei-kun was around, since the brat had a flashlight in that watch of his. (And stealing the watch felt like cheating most days. He might steal the belt at some point, though – soccer balls to the face _hurt_.)

Speaking of tantei-kun, there he was now, chatting with tantei-san not far from the display. KID resisted the urge to smirk as he contemplated his plans for the evening. No need to give himself away just yet, not when he hadn’t been so much as suspected.

Though he needed to stop looking at tantei-kun if he wanted to keep it that way. He barely managed to be facing neutrally away before the detective whipped around to face him. Seriously, it was like he had some kind of weird sixth sense specific to KID. Not that he wasn’t flattered, but it could be kind of a pain when it came to staying hidden.

Suddenly everyone in the room began counting down. He grinned internally. Showtime.

When the count hit zero, the lights dimmed (though they didn’t turn completely off), so every eye would be drawn to the tiara now lit with soft blue lights. The water around it was also lit, glowing gently to accentuate the centerpiece.

But KID wasn’t focused on that. He was focused on the shadows in the water that he hadn’t seen earlier. The _moving_ shadows.

His attention was freed from the f-f- the creatures when he noticed the whispers starting up as he failed to appear. And, well, he couldn’t keep his fans waiting. He’d just have to ignore the… backdrop.

With a quick puff of smoke, KID stood beside the display with a polite smile. “My apologies for the delay. I was just appreciating the effort put into this lovely display.” And speaking of effort, it took a good deal of it to pull on his usual grin. “A pity to spoil it, but I can’t disappoint my audience, now can I?”

He just managed to dodge the soccer ball aimed at his midsection, knocking over the stand (now sans jewelry) in his haste. Which turned out to be rather unfortunate. While the projectile’s trajectory would have had it bouncing off the display case after missing KID, the absence of said obstacle meant it had a straight path to one of the glass walls of the aquarium.

Fortunately, it was high enough on the wall that most of the water would stay inside. Unfortunately, there were still water, fish, and bits of safety glass (thank whoever designed this thing for good safety precautions) pouring out all over the floor, drenching the shrieking patrons. And KID as well, who was staring at the flopping creatures on the ground, face turning ever so slightly green.

Then there was a puff of smoke, and KID vanished.

Hakuba and Conan watched this whole thing unfold with a touch of concern, plus some chagrin on Conan’s part. “Didn’t expect him to push it over,” he murmured.

Hakuba nodded absently. “Nor I. Something is wrong.”

They exchanged a look. Conan waved in an apparently random direction. “Nearest stairs are over there.”

“Lead the way.”

 

Kaito made it to the roof and the comfort of a gentle crescent moon before collapsing in a gasping, shivering heap. Why did it have to be _fish_ of all things? He could handle just about anything else, but was _fish_ and that was the _one thing he couldn’t-_

No, he could deal with this. He just needed to calm his breathing, think about anything but _something was wriggling in his shirt getitoutgetitout-_

A moment later, he sat as far from the offending creature as possible, breathing still far too fast and shaky, clothes a mess due to yanking his shirt free of his pants as fast as humanly possible. He needed to – needed to call Jii, organize a pickup, there was no way he could fly home like-

Were those footsteps on the stairs?

He barely had time to push himself into a slightly less haphazard position before the door banged open, revealing his detectives. Conan looked at him, then the fish still flopping pitifully on the ground. Realization crossed his face. He hissed something that made Hakuba’s eyes go wide and walked briskly over to it, so he stood between Kaito and the creature from the darkest depths, cutting off his line of sight.

Hakuba moved more slowly toward him and knelt close, but not so close they were touching. “KID?”

The thief stared at him, eyes wide and glazed, breathing erratic. Not good. Hakuba steeled himself, taking note that Edogawa was removing the fish from the roof, and focused his attention on KID. “Breathe, KID. In two three four, out two three four, in two three four, out two-”

KID matched the count after a moment, breathing still shaky, but better than before. He choked after a couple four-counts, looked pained at the slip. “It’s okay, once more. In two three four, out two three four…”

They restarted twice more, but by the time Edogawa returned KID’s breathing had returned to something like normal, though he still looked dazed. “What’s my name?” Hakuba asked, pulling up half-remembered training on handling panic attacks.

“…Hakuba.”

“What day is today?”

“Saturday.”

He still wasn’t all there, and Hakuba found himself grasping. Question, question… This would be a lot easier if he was dealing with Kuroba rather than KID…

“Do you like chocolate?”

Hakuba blinked at Edogawa, having almost forgotten he was there.

“Yeah. It’s my favorite.” Kaito smiled weakly, a pale imitation of his usual grin. He tried to push himself up on shaky arms, but flopped back into his barely propped up position. He might have fallen over completely if not for the detectives reaching out to steady him.

His smile had vanished again by the time they let go. “Why… why are you helping me?”

They blinked at him. “Because you need help?” Conan said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Maybe it was for him, but not for Kaito. “But… you’re detectives. It’s your job to catch me.” It was perhaps a bad sign that he wasn’t taking advantage of their leniency, but now that the initial panic had worn off he was too tired to really care.

The detectives exchanged a worried look. Hakuba looked him in the eye, open and earnest. “Neither of us is going to arrest you right now. It wouldn’t be right.” He glanced at Conan for confirmation and received a nod. “See?”

“But… why…”

“Because you’re our thief,” Conan said almost angrily, “same as we’re your detectives. Would you leave one of us in the middle of a panic attack?”

Kaito bowed his head, shielding his eyes behind bangs and hat brim. He didn’t say a word.

“Right. Hakuba, how are we getting him out of here? Somehow I doubt he’ll be able to get past the police on his own.”

“There’s a concealed back exit only the owners know about on the ground floor.”

“…”

Hakuba coughed. “The owners and me. They suspected KID might find it anyway and wanted someone to know, but not the whole police force. So.”

Kaito managed to look up a bit as they plotted. He was too tired to really care what they were saying, but the sound of their voices was soothing, as was watching the back-and-forth of emotions on their faces. Eventually they exchanged a nod and turned back to him.

“Can you manage a disguise?” Hakuba asked. “Our route passes through areas where people may see us, and it would be difficult to claim we were giving the Kaitou KID directions.”

Kaito chuckled at the image. “Yeah, give me a sec.” He stood somewhat unsteadily, acceding to Hakuba’s help, then pulled away to whip his cape around with a flourish.

An ordinary, suit-wearing, utterly forgettable man stood in his place. Conan looked him over and snorted. “Thought so.”

KID pouted. “You could at least pretend you were fooled.”

“If you want to fool me, stop staring at me before the heist. It’s a dead giveaway.”

Hakuba herded them toward the stairs before they could begin seriously arguing. Kaito managed a decent approximation of his usual smooth walk, though from how closely Conan watched him and Hakuba stuck to his side, it wasn’t fooling either of them.

They had to pass near the main room on the way to Hakuba’s secret exit. Kaito made the mistake of glancing inside and started shaking again. A hand pressed firmly against his back urged him forward until they couldn’t see into the room anymore, calming exercises whispered in his ear that he answered mechanically until his shoulders relaxed a bit. Fortunately they didn’t run into any other problems on the way out and soon found themselves past the back gate.

Kaito turned and smiled brightly at them. “Thanks for the trouble, but I can take it from here.” They gave him matching dubious looks. He stopped forcing the smile. No need to waste his last bit of energy on a useless act. “My assistant’s parked near here. I’m not risking their identity.”

He endured their calculating gazes, clearly trying to decide if he was lying. Not that he thought he could do so reliably in such a state. Hakuba nodded acceptance first. “Very well. I should leave soon in any case; I intend to bring my classmate some chocolate pudding tomorrow as I’m sure he’ll be taking a sick day.” He leveled a stern glare at Kaito.

“Seconded,” Conan said with the same look. “…Not the pudding though, I’d have to explain that to Ran.”

Kaito’s lips quirked into a faint smile. “The sentiment is appreciated.” And it honestly was. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my assistant is surely getting concerned.”

“KID?”

He paused before vanishing into the shadows, looking down at a slightly fidgety Conan. “Yes?”

“Tell someone. Please.”

“…We’ll see.” And he stepped back, disappearing as completely as if he’d never been there.

Not long after, a shadow slipped into an idling car on the next street over. “Sorry I’m late.”

Jii glanced at Kaito in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the curb. “Is everything alright? You look a bit pale.”

“…Aquarium broke.”

Jii jerked like he would have spun to stare at Kaito if he weren’t currently driving. Kaito winced. “I’m okay, really!”

“Nonetheless you are calling your mother when you get home.”

“…Kay.” He turned to stare out the window, watching the lights go by.


	15. Arcade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito, Conan, and Hakuba visit an arcade together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Eighteenth. 
> 
> Congrats to lucathia for a correct guess! Request was for someone to suggest hanging out like normal high schoolers to feel normal and them ending up at an arcade, with Kaito/KID and one or more of his detectives. Hopefully this fits what you pictured! :)
> 
> Hey, something that's mostly happy. There isn't much of that in this set, huh? :P Anyway, everyone basically knows everything about each other here. Including Conan's horrible singing. (This is relevant trust me.)
> 
> Since I've had it come up multiple times, allow me to clarify: until I post the final ficlet (which will be on November 1st), you can still guess the constant detail. You'll know it's the last ficlet because I'll put the answer in the author's notes for anyone who wants to know. If someone guesses right after the second to last one is posted, there's a chance I won't get to the request until after NaNo, but otherwise that's the only restriction so feel free to keep guessing. :)

Conan yawned and checked his watch. Half an hour past the time he’d been asked to be here. Surprising, considering who’d requested this meeting. He was usually known for his punctuality.

Normally Conan wouldn’t mind too much – stuff happened sometimes – but darn it, if you ask someone to show up at seven in the morning, you don’t show up later than them. Seriously, the moon was still up, a thin slice of light in the bright sky. He glared at it. Stupid moon.

“-surprised to run into you here. There wouldn’t be any particular reason for that, would there?”

Conan perked up a bit at a familiar, albeit currently skeptical, voice.

The next voice was cheerful, completely failing to react to that suspicion. “Good to see you too Hakuba. And speaking of seeing people, hi Conan!” Kuroba waved as he and Hakuba rounded the corner. “I was just headed to the arcade. Wanna join? They open early, but not many people show up until later in the morning, so it should be practically empty about now.”

Conan looked at Hakuba, questioning. The other detective shrugged; his call. Well, since he was here at Hakuba’s request… “Sure.”

“I don’t see why not,” Hakuba said.

Kuroba beamed and snagged them each by a wrist. “Great, let’s go!”

Conan managed not to yelp as they were yanked down the street by the overenthusiastic magician. He grinned and adjusted his speed to keep up. Well, it had been a while since he’d gotten to relax a bit. And when better than with two of the few people who knew his real identity?

 

“So what I want to know,” Hakuba said as Conan attempted to not pass out from oxygen deprivation, “is whether your DDR skills are in any way related to your acrobatics experience.”

Kaito grinned, barely sweating despite having soundly defeated both detectives multiple times in a row. “Who knows.”

Conan managed to glare at him without dying. “Shooting game. Now.”

Kaito shrugged and led the way with a very KID-like grin. “As you wish.”

Hakuba watched them for the first few rounds without comment as they beat each other by minimal points, the ‘loser’ insisting on a rematch due to what would be a tie if not for extremely precise scoring. Conan turned to him after his latest win, slightly concerned. “Did you want to play?”

He shook his head with a wry grin. “I can shoot a gun, but not well. It’s more entertaining watching you two. Though I think I’ll step away for a moment,” he added, looking at something past the machine. “I expect you’ll still be here when I return?”

“Duh,” Kaito said, already selecting their next level. Hakuba rolled his eyes with a smile and left them to it.

Kaito won the round just as Hakuba got back with a small bag. He gave it a curious look. “What’s that?”

Without a word, he held out a pair of matched KID and Conan plushies. They looked at the toys with a mix of incredulity and glee (the latter mostly Kaito).

“Oh my gosh, where did you find these?!” Kaito asked, snatching the Conan plush and grinning at the exaggerated sparkly eyes. He held it out for Conan to inspect. “Here, doesn’t it look just like you?”

Conan scowled and took the other plush from Hakuba, examining it critically. Unlike the Conan doll’s cutesy smile, the plush KID wore a familiar white-toothed grin. “The shades of blue are off, but otherwise this one’s pretty spot on,” he admitted begrudgingly before trading with Kaito.

The magician hummed thoughtfully. “They are, aren’t they. Ah well. So where did they come from?” he asked again, looking curiously at Hakuba.

He smiled and waved in the direction of his earlier disappearance. “Claw game. I assumed from the ‘NEW!!!’ label that you might not have gotten to it yet.”

“You guessed right. That’s awesome,” he said, still beaming at the doll. He finally looked up to hook his arm around Hakuba’s. “Why don’t you pick the next game? Call it my way of saying thanks.”

“Hmmm… what about that one?” He nodded toward a racing game. One that, by the looks of it, could take several people in a single match.

Kaito and Conan exchanged a look, then grinned. “Perfect.”

 

“Oh, hey,” Kaito said suddenly, breaking off Conan’s question of what to do next. “They’ve got karaoke. That’s new since the last time I came through.” He paused, thinking, then grinned. “Hey Conan, interested in a sing-off?”

Conan prepared to scowl, then had a better idea. His smile went as bright as the one on the plush tucked in his pocket. “That sounds like a great idea! I wonder what songs it has?”

Kaito’s mischievous smirk faltered a bit at the realization that he could only get out of this by backing down. Which Conan already knew he wouldn’t do. “Eheh… Yeah…”

Hakuba looked between the two, resisting the urge to laugh when he caught on. “I’ll pass, thank you,” he said. “I saw some food stands outside, so I’ll pick up lunch while you hold your sing off.”

Kaito watched him leave almost mournfully before turning to the horrible singer next to him with a valiant attempt at a smile. “So, shall we get started?”

Conan continued to appear bright and cheerful. “Whenever you’re ready!”

 

Kaito curled up on the plastic bench and slurped despondently at a chocolate milkshake. Hakuba watched him with a mix of concern and amusement. “Ah… Kuroba?”

“He’ll be okay,” Conan said with a snicker. “Once he gets the song out of his head. Besides, he brought this on himself.”

Kaito turned to glower at him. “I am traumatized, you jerk. By your horrible singing. _Never. Again._ ”

“Didn’t you say that before? You know, the first time you heard my singing?”

“ _I mean it this time okay!_ ”

He glared at the laughing detectives for a moment before quirking a smile himself.

“Oh, right,” Conan said suddenly, digging in his pockets. “While I was waiting for Kaito to recover, I got these.” He held out a pair of keychains, one a deerstalker and the other KID’s signature doodle. “My thanks for Hakuba’s present. And, well, it seemed kind of unfair not to get one for Kaito while I was at it. Plus I had the extra tickets.” He held up a prize desk receipt, passing it to Kaito.

The magician raised a brow at the number. “What did you win, exactly?”

He shrugged, grinning. No need to mention that shooting skills transferred somewhat to those coin-rolling games; Kaito probably cleaned the place out when he got too distracted without that knowledge.

Instead, he said, “Wanna try one of those tower stacking games?”

 

“Hey, Hakuba,” Conan said softly, careful not to distract Kaito in his attempt to beat a high score. “What did you want to talk about?”

Hakuba blinked at him. “Pardon?”

“You called me out here, right?”

“I thought you called me.”

“Really.”

They looked at each other, then at the part-time thief in front of them, then back at each other. And shrugged in unison, smiling in a ‘what can you do’ sort of way. Not that they wouldn’t interrogate Kaito for motives once he finished the round, but it had been a good day; neither one was upset at being tricked this time.

“Yes!” Kaito fist pumped, turning to grin at them. “Made it to – did I miss something?”

“Nothing much,” Conan said. “We were just wondering why you called us out here.”

He looked between the two of them, then smiled sheepishly. “Caught, huh? Shouldn’t have given you a chance to compare notes.”

“We don’t mind,” Hakuba assured him. “At least, I don’t, and knowing him…”

“I’m fine with it,” Conan said. “I just want to know why.”

Kaito rolled his eyes, but his smile didn’t fade, just changed to something more fond. “Detectives. Always with the motives. I just thought it would be nice to have an ordinary day out together. You know, meet up, hang out at the arcade all day, joke around some. Like…” He broke off before finishing the sentence, smile wavering a bit.

“Like normal friends do,” Conan finished softly, understanding.

Kaito nodded sharply, then looked up at them again. (As much as he could look up when Conan was still below eye level.) “Did it work?”

“As much as anything we do together can be considered normal,” Hakuba said, utterly nonchalant.

Kaito beamed. “Great! Oh, and while we’re on the subject.” He twisted his wrist, and a poof of smoke appeared, obscuring the objects in his hands before he tossed one to each detective.

Conan almost dropped his, staring blankly at the keychain shaped like his glasses for a moment before looking at the Hakuba plush (in full Sherlockian costume, of course) in the actual Hakuba’s hand, then at Kaito.

The magician grinned at their vaguely stunned expressions. “Now we’ve got two complete sets!” He held up his KID plush to demonstrate, keychain somehow hooked around its wrist so it wouldn’t fall off.

Hakuba snorted. “When did you even find time to get these? You were with one of us the whole time.”

“Secrets, detective!” The grin he gave was all KID.

Conan smiled and tucked the keychain in the pocket with his plushie. “What’s that have to do with our last topic?” He suspected he already knew the answer.

“Nothing whatsoever!” Yup, he was right.


	16. Restart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito and Hakuba talk before an important event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Nineteenth.
> 
> Originally I intended to write something kind of dark today. But I changed my mind, so have whatever this is instead. Also, I'm aware it looks like it could have a scene right after it, but I don't have any plans to write that scene. It's not what this piece is about. Sorry if that disappoints anyone. -u-

Kaito sipped at a thermos of hot chocolate, watching the moon rise. Well, the sun more like, but he didn’t care much about the technicalities.

They said the new moon stood for beginnings, that it marked a time for trying something different. That it’s the best time for starting a journey toward a new goal. But all that didn’t make him any less nervous about what he planned to do.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

He looked up at Hakuba and managed a faint smile. “Nope. Nerves. What's your excuse?”

“The same, actually.”

That was surprising. Hakuba wasn’t the one about to do something that could easily be a complete disaster. “What are you nervous about?”

He sat on the planter beside Kaito, looking out at the lightening sky. “Not _about_ something, exactly. But for you.”

Kaito looked at him in surprise. “Really?” Hakuba’s disappointed expression had him scrambling to figure out what he’d said wrong. “I mean… not that that’s a bad thing, but-”

“One of these days,” he said, interrupting Kaito’s awkward backtracking, “we’ll convince you that we honestly do care about you, and that includes worrying when you do something dangerous.”

“I know that,” he grumbled, thinking back to an incident that had resulted in KID taking an enforced nap in a hotel room and missing his own heist. “But this isn’t exactly dangerous.”

“Danger doesn’t have to be physical.”

Kaito searched Hakuba’s expression for… he wasn’t sure what, actually. “What does that mean?”

“As I see it, danger is anything that could lead to someone getting hurt, regardless of if it’s physical or not. The reason you feel uncertainty is because you know there’s a chance you could get hurt. The reason I feel it is because I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Kaito turned away, unable to meet his eyes. “I have to do this though.”

A hand rested lightly on his shoulder, still tentative despite their growing friendship. “I know. I won’t say you shouldn’t. But I will promise to be there for you afterward, regardless of how it turns out.”

Kaito placed his hand over Hakuba’s, eyes fixed on the horizon. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

They sat in silence as the sun finally inched its way past the nearby houses. At some point their hands slid to rest between them, not quite touching, but close enough to be a reminder of the other’s presence.

The door slid open behind them. “Botchama, your friend is here. She’s waiting in the living room.”

“Thank you, Baaya,” Hakuba said with a cordial nod. “Would you prepare tea? Something calming, I think.”

“Of course.”

Hakuba turned back to Kaito as she left. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” He stood up and managed another shaky smile. “Lead the way.”

They walked through the quiet halls, footsteps making barely any sound. Hakuba stopped one door down from the living room. “I’ll be in here for the foreseeable future. If you need me, knock. The walls are nearly soundproof, so I won’t hear if you call.”

Nor would he hear anything said. The reminder was unnecessary, but appreciated nonetheless. “Thanks, Hakuba.”

“Of course.”

Kaito waited for him to close the door behind him. He took a deep breath and entered the living room, approaching the comfortable collection of couch and chairs like a soldier going to war. He took a seat on the couch and turned his feeble smile on the room’s other occupant, who seemed a bit puzzled by his unusually serious demeanor. “Kaito?”

“Hey, Aoko. There’s something I need to tell you.”


	17. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something goes wrong at a heist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty First.
> 
> Congrats to starfly_ocean for a correct guess! Request was one of KID's detectives getting hurt at a heist, and him putting himself in danger to help, plus of course the associated guilt that said detective got hurt on his watch. Hope this fits! :)
> 
> For the record, this went back and forth between having flashbacks to the Nightmare incident or not. Several times. It finally settled on not, and I think that's probably for the best. With that said, enjoy the story1 :)

The first thing he feels when he comes to is pain. The first thing he hears is his name.

“Hakuba? Hakuba, can you hear me? …Damn it, now what…”

He grunts a little and pries his eyes open. His vision is a bit blurry, but not so much that he can’t make out the white-clad thief hovering in front of him, or the wave of relief that passes through his expression. “Oh thank whatever deity is listening. Are you – no, of course you’re not okay. Uh…”

“I believe the traditional question is, how many fingers am I holding up,” Hakuba says, voice strangely raspy to his ears. He grunts and levers himself upright before returning his attention to KID. “Which, at the moment, appears to be ten.”

KID blinks at him, then down at his hands, poised as though to offer help Hakuba hadn’t needed. “At the very least you still have the ability to be sarcastic,” he observes, lowering his hands. “Which bodes well for your mental faculties in general. What do you remember?”

He thinks for a moment, noting as he does that the room they’re in is mostly intact. Odd, considering that from what he can remember… “There was an explosion, right? You froze up for a second, and then you jumped toward me…” They’d been the only ones in that hallway, deep in the building’s innards as the rest of the task force headed for higher ground and the crescent moon's light. A nice change in tactics to be sure.

KID nods. “I believe some of my traps got tangled with the machinery down here, causing the explosion. We fell down a floor. You probably shouldn’t try to walk.”

Hakuba looks down at his leg and oh. That explains the pain anyway. “You already treated it,” he observes, studying the splint. Done without ideal supplies, of course, but the professionalism is clearly that of someone who’s done this before. He decides no to think too hard on that.

“Of course I did,” KID says, almost affronted. “I couldn’t leave you like that, could I? Not when-” He cuts himself off, looking pained, but it isn’t hard to end the sentence.

Hakuba stiffens, then glares at him. “I sincerely hope you weren’t going to say what I think you were.” KID mutters something about not actually saying it, which does not lessen his glare in the least. Idiot thief always taking the blame on himself. “Oh for – you know what, never mind. More important, you tried to protect me when the explosion first happened, right?”

“Well…”

“Don’t answer that. I remember you shielding me. Show me your back.”

“It’s not that bad,” he grumbles, turning to show a pristine white cloak. Too pristine.

“Alright. Now show me whatever part of you was actually exposed to the blast.”

KID turns to glare at him, but deflates when met with a perfectly even stare. Hakuba suspects the guilt actually helped in this case as KID reluctantly pulls the cape aside, exposing his back. There’s a good amount of damage there, but it appears that the fabric soaked up most of it. “Are you burned anywhere? Or injured in any other way?”

“Not seriously.”

Hakuba gave him another flat look. “And this is why you’ve held your wrist out of my sight this whole time. You may be good at subtlety, but do recall that it’s my job to notice suspicious behavior. Show me.”

KID begins to glare at him again, then seems to change his mind. He sighs and sits on the floor next to Hakuba, extending his wrist. “Sprained,” he says quietly. “My assistant will help with it after I leave.”

“And how long until the rescue party gets here?”

“I’m not going with-”

“Of course not,” Hakuba says, not even worrying about being rude. The only way to get through to someone this focused on wallowing is a bit of rudeness. “But I’m not foolish enough to think you would even consider leaving until they rescue me, and you shouldn’t let that go untreated. I know first aid, if you have the supplies.”

KID hesitates again, but only for a moment, before nodding ever so slightly and pulling out a few items. “Not exactly a full kit,” he admits, “but it’s mostly for emergencies.”

“That’s fine.” Hakuba takes the tape and bandage, adjusting KID’s sleeve and glove so they’re out of his way before getting to work. As an added bonus, focusing on this takes his mind off his leg. “I assume you iced it already.”

“While you were… resting.” There’s an uncomfortable pause in the middle that says a lot about KID’s level of concern. “You hit your head on the way down. I tried to soften the landing, but, well. It didn’t quite work.” His eyes flicker to Hakuba’s leg and back to his wrist. “Practical training, not just book learning, I see.”

“Yes, well, in my line of work people often get hurt.” He sees KID’s expression dim a little and tapes the bandage in place, leaning forward to meet his eye. “Even if it’s against your code, sometimes things happen, and people get hurt. You saved me from what would have been almost certain death; let that be enough.”

KID looks down at where Hakuba still hasn’t released his wrist, then further down to his lap. Hakuba lowers their hands to the ground between them and doesn’t speak.

They remain silent until the sound of voices can be heard nearby, at which point KID stands abruptly and vanishes in a swirl of white.

 

Hakuba glances up from his book as an unfamiliar nurse steps in. “New help?”

“I’ve been asked to fill in for today,” the man says with a smile.

“I see. And how likely do you think it is that I’ll believe that?”

“Not at all. The story was for the public’s eyes, not for detectives.”

Hakuba smiles as KID takes a seat in the visitor’s chair. “I’m sure you heard the news already, but the machinery in the building was out of date; they were putting off replacing anything because of new codes they didn’t want to spend money on. So it wasn’t entirely your trap that set off the explosion.”

Though the building owners had tried to claim otherwise. Nakamori had handled that one, which prevented Hakuba from having to hunt them down himself. It would have been hard, what with having to escape the hospital with a broken leg, but he still rather wished for the excuse.

“I heard.” KID’s smile goes strained for a moment, then pops back into something more familiar. “So, tantei-san, how are you doing? Or would I be better off borrowing your medical records?”

“Just fine, thank you. I’m in here for a few days for monitoring, but after that I can return home to heal.”

KID relaxes a bit. “That’s good.”

“Indeed. While you’re here, I’ve been hoping to ask something.”

And now he’s tense again. Not the intended effect, but a necessary evil at the moment. “And what might that be?”

“When I first woke up, you called me Hakuba. Not tantei-san. Why? Not to say I don’t have my theories, but I would appreciate confirmation or negation.”

KID meets his eyes for a moment, then turns away. “You were unconscious after we fell. I checked both our vitals, fixed your leg, iced my wrist… over half an hour later and you hadn’t even stirred.”

About what he’d expected. Not that it pleases him much to be right this time. He reaches out slowly and places a hand on KID’s knee. “I’m alright now. And so are you.”

KID looks up again. There’s a damp gleam in his eyes (eyes of a very familiar indigo hue, but Hakuba’s pointedly Not Noticing right now) that has Hakuba reaching up and pulling him close in a heartbeat. The thief tenses, then relaxes into the hug, arms wrapping around Hakuba in turn.

They stay like that for a while before KID pulls back and, with a quick look at the door, vanishes. Hakuba is confused until a nurse (the usual nurse, of course) comes in to do the rounds.

Later on, Aoko comes to visit, dragging Kuroba with her. She’s the first to notice the flower that’s appeared since her last visit, a single peony mixed in with the others in the vase. Hakuba looks at it, then at Kuroba, who’s trying to pretend he couldn’t care less (normally he’s a better actor).

He smiles. “It’s from a friend.” And he changes the subject.


	18. Skirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys get questioned about their ability to crossdress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty-Second.
> 
> Only warnings today are for a bit of innuendo and some smirking and snickering that can be considered suggestive. Basically you can read certain moments as having relationship implications or just being Kaito's mischievous/flirtatious nature.

“Would any of you be able to move normally if you were wearing a skirt?”

They were at a small cafe, appreciating the crescent moon still visible at that hour of the morning (or at least Kaito was), when the question came up. And it wasn’t as random as it sounded. Someone (nobody quite remembered who) had brought up KID’s disguises and the fact that he wore a skirt very convincingly for someone who was supposedly male. Kaito of course defended his idol’s acting skills - the great Kaitou KID could easily disguise as anyone, male or female! Kazuha retorted that no guy could strut around in heels and a dress that well. Ran spoke up with the question before the argument escalated.

Heiji grimaced. “No way I could move in one a those things. KID’s probably just crazy dedicated. Assuming he is a guy,” he added quickly as he noticed Kazuha’s glare.

She humphed. “It would make sense for KID to be a girl, though. Think of how flexible that crazy thief is!”

Someone made a pained noise, though it went mostly unnoticed. Kaito’s grin grew extra teeth and began to resemble KID’s just a bit.

“Moving on,” Ran said quickly. “That’s one no. You three?”

Hakuba grimaced. “Between Kuroba and KID, I have enough experience to render my opinion unhelpful, but yes. I can move freely in a skirt so long as it isn’t too closely fitted.”

“Same issue, different reasons,” Shinichi said with a shrug. “I’ve had to do some strange things during my time away.” Especially with that last crusade against the Black Org. Edogawa Conan was a bit too well known by then for him to manage some of the things he needed to do.

But that left only one male person at the table, and everyone was suddenly very aware of who it was. In unison, they slowly turned toward Kaito.

He blinked, smile fading a bit. “What? You can just ask, you know.”

“I think we’re all wary of what will happen if we do,” Hakuba says cautiously.

“...Seriously?”

Heiji muttered something. Kaito’s attention turned to him. “What was that?”

Heiji hesitated, then shrugged. “I said it’s not like we don’t all know the answer to that one anyway.”

Kaito beamed. “True.”

Ran coughed. “So, that’s one to three, and all three positives are because of experience. I hate to say it, but it looks like this one could go either way.”

“Although if KID is male, he must’ve had a lot of practice crossdressing,” Heiji remarked.

Kaito snickered as Shinichi’s head hit the table and Hakuba buried his face in his hands as his shoulders shook. Heiji blinked. “What?”

“You don’t want to know,” both detectives said in muffled tones. Kaito started cracking up.

 


	19. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito's detectives state their feelings about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty-Third.
> 
> Wow, this is the closest to romance I've gotten since I was actively writing Wake. Not that I ever include romance in longer works, but I wrote some romance back then. (It's been about a year, for those who want an actual figure.) I mostly don't bother because I suck at writing distinct romance. Anyway, feel free to take this as deep platonic broship or as actual romance between these three. All up to the reader. :)
> 
> Question: would anyone care to read bits of a crossover between this and a novel that may exist by the end of November? Because while I won't post full works based on my unpublished stories, I have my NaNovel on the brain and it's giving me crossover ideas (again).
> 
> Finally, a quick warning: I'm going to be busy for the next several days, so I may miss a day without warning. I'll most likely be missing the 25th and possibly the 30th so I can focus on WtNE, but otherwise there won't be a notice. Sorry about that. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy the story!

Saguru isn’t entirely sure what he walked in on. Normally when he visits the Kudo mansion, he finds Kaito, Shinichi, or both in one of the downstairs rooms, with some sort of mischief occurring if Kaito was there. Occasionally Heiji shows up as well and the degree of chaos increases exponentially.

Today, while both of the usual parties are here,  no mischief is occurring and everything is overall strangely calm. Shinichi is sitting on one end of the couch, reading with a lamp to supplement the crescent moon’s light, with Kaito on the other side burying his face in a cushion. Also Kaito’s ears are bright red. Which explains the cushion.

“Did you break him?” Saguru finally asks, amused. After all, not much flustered Kaito.

Shinichi looks up, then over at Kaito. His small smile radiates warmth. “I hope not. I just told him the truth. Right, Kaito?”

Kaito groans and mutters something grumpy into his cushion.

“What was that? I don’t think I quite caught it.”

The cushion is pulled back enough to reveal Kaito’s beet-red face glaring at Shinichi. “I said stop being a cheesy jerk.”

Shinichi’s smile remains warm, not a trace of teasing in it. “There’s nothing cheesy about being honest. Right, Saguru?”

“I suppose it depends on what’s being said.” He squeezes in between Kaito and the armrest, leaning into the warmth the magician always seems to radiate. Of course, he’s warmer than usual due to embarrassment, but that’s hardly a deterrent. “If it’s what I think, then Shinichi is quite correct; it’s only the truth.”

“See?” Shinichi sets down his book and wraps an arm around Kaito’s shoulders. “You’re our magician, and we love you. That’s simple fact.”

Kaito makes a strange noise and curls in on himself, the color in his ears somehow deepening. “How can you say it so… so easily?” he asks in a slightly strangled voice.

Saguru and Shinichi exchange a look over his head. “It’s not, always,” Saguru admits. “But just because it’s hard to say, doesn’t make it any less true. It just makes it more special when you manage to say it.”

“And it’s harder to accept than it is to say,” Shinichi says softly. 

Kaito scoffs and finally scoots over a little to give Saguru more space. That leaves him more firmly sandwiched between the two, but when they scoot closer, he doesn’t object.

After all, out loud isn’t the only way to speak, and they know him well enough to hear what he can’t quite bring himself to say.


	20. Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ran sets Shinichi up on a blind date. It's less blind than any of them expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty-Fourth.
> 
> This one was inspired while looking through OTP prompts lists for ideas. (Mostly because I like flustered Kaito a lot but can never think of good ways to fluster him. Whenever I write him he's more likely to be the one flustering than the one being flustered. -n-) I didn't quite find what I wanted, but the prompt worked too well for these two to pass up. Twisted a bit to fit circumstances, of course, but it was inspired by the original prompt. Anyway, this can be read as buildup to future romance, or platonic friendship. Whatever you prefer.
> 
> Also, be aware I know nothing about how blind dates work except for what the internet says, so my facts may be faulty/ :P 
> 
> For those curious, the prompt was number 71 from: http://onetruepairingideas.tumblr.com/post/134893351451/76-otp-prompts-list-thingy

“Ran, this is by far the stupidest thing you’ve ever made me do,” Shinichi says over the phone.

It’s not the free coffee he’s objecting to (obviously), or even the location. The coffee shop is nice enough and their quality is decent. No, what he’s irritated about is the fact that she set him up on a blind date without asking. So of course, being the polite young man he is, he had to show up so his supposed date wouldn’t be left hanging.

He’d have to deal with her reaction, but he’d rather not stick around for an actual date. There were other, more important things in his life than romance right now.

Ran, oblivious to or not caring about his irritation, laughed gaily. “Call it revenge for all the stupid things you made me do when we were kids,” she said. “Anyway, he’s a friend of a friend, so at least give him a chance, hm?”

Shinichi opened his mouth with some sharp retort – then paused. “Him?”

“Yes, him. That’s not a problem, is it?”

Was it a problem? He considered for a moment. …No, it really wasn’t. But still. “What would you do if it was?”

Her shrug was almost audible. “Tell you to talk with him, at least make friends. You could use some non-detective friends. Anyway, he should be there soon, I’m told he’s really good at being precisely on time when he wants to be, and I’m going to be late for my meetup with Nakamori-chan, so talk to you later!”

“Wait, Ran-!” Beep.

Shinichi looked at his phone, then buried his face in his hands. Great. Just great. A friend of a friend, meaning he had to at least try or Ran’s new friend would be upset, and then Ran would get mad at him, and he really didn’t need that when he was still settling back into his old life.

…Wait, did she say Nakamori? And something about this person being precise about time? That might mean… No, it wouldn’t be Hakuba, she said non-detective. (Thank goodness; he might like Hakuba okay from a distance but the guy was a bit straight-laced for him. He’d probably be appalled at some of Shinichi’s data collecting methods.)

Anyway, she really did want the best for him (even if she went about it in some extremely inconvenient ways), so maybe he ought to at least give this a try.

The door opened, and Shinichi glanced up to see a messy-haired teen enter the shop. He had an air about him that made Shinichi uncomfortable, but he couldn’t quite place it. Something about the way he stood, or the way he cocked his head… it was off-putting, but difficult to pinpoint. He found himself disliking this guy a bit already.

When the waitress pointed at Shinichi’s table, the teen turned with a bored expression that froze the instant their eyes met. His whole demeanor changed from standoffish and unapproachable to something faintly familiar.

 _Oh_ , Shinichi thought, as they continued to stare at each other. _Well then._

The teen unfroze, visibly reorienting himself, and bounced over to plop himself in the seat across from Shinichi with a big grin. “Hey there. Kuroba Kaito, here for a blind date, codeword dove.”

Shinichi snorted. He wasn’t sure which of the two matchmakers had set up the codeword system to increase anonymity, but he couldn’t claim their choices weren’t appropriate. “Nice to meet you. Kudo Shinichi, codeword raven. Are you ready to order, Kuroba-san?”

Kaito scoffed. “Why so formal? Just call me Kaito. And sure, whenever you are. I’ve been here before.”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. “We’ve only just met, though.”

“True. But it feels like we’ve known each other for ages.” His grin was just wide enough to be reminiscent of another grin. Obviously a hint that his suspicions were correct.

Still, concrete confirmation would be nice. “I guess it does,” he murmured, brushing his hair aside and discreetly circled his eye with thumb and forefinger, too quick to be noticed unless you were watching for it.

Kaito was silent as he completed the gesture, then grinned again, nodding the smallest bit. He turned and waved the waitress over before Shinichi could respond.

While they waited for their food, Shinichi asked, “So, Kuroba-san-”

“Kaito.”

Shinichi sighed. “You do realize how strange it’ll look for me to be on a first-name basis with someone I just met, right?”

Kaito shrugged. “We’re supposed to be on a date, so we just say we’re soulmates and end it there.”

Blank stare.

“…Yeah, okay, maybe not the best idea.” Kaito frowned, lost in thought.

Shinichi watched him for a moment, then sighed. “Kuroba, then. If you insist on being informal. It’s strange, but not enough that Ran will question it too much. She’ll just assume we hit it off fast.”

Kaito didn’t look too pleased with it, but he just sighed and slumped a little. “True.”

Considering his past experiences with the magician thief, that disappointed slump didn’t look right at all. Shinichi felt a little bad, but there was only so much he could offer. “Sorry. I’d say it’s fine when it’s just us, but I’m a bad enough actor that I’ll start pulling a Hattori if I try.”

Kaito quirked a faint smile. “Always good to know your weaknesses.”

“Yep.”

They fell silent for a moment as their food arrived. Shinichi got the waitress’s attention before she left and whispered something quietly. She smiled and nodded before leaving.

Kaito watched the interaction curiously. “What was that about?”

“Nothing important. So, now that we’ve formally met, anything you’d like to talk about?”

Kaito snorted. “A better question would be where to start.”

“What about with all the blind dates you’ve been sent on previously that turned out so horribly?”

Kaito’s brow rose, then fell again. “Right, detective. You figured it out when I first came in.”

“After you dropped the act, actually. You almost had me fooled until then.”

“Heh. Good to know I can even fool you once in a while.”

Half an hour later, they’d finished eating and were still chatting about meaningless subjects when the waitress came back to their table. “One slice of double chocolate cake,” she said, placing it on the table before leaving again.

Kaito blinked at it, then Shinichi, eyes sparkling with delight. Shinichi grinned. “Somehow I figured you’d be the type to like sweet things. To match your personality, I’m sure.” He snickered as Kaito’s cheeks went a shade darker, then glanced at the plate again. “The second fork was unnecessary, though. I’m not a fan of sweet foods. The coffee is good though.”

“It suits your bitter outlook on life,” Kaito snarked, a painfully transparent attempt to conceal his embarrassment. Shinichi hid his smile behind a sip of coffee.

Later that night, as Shinichi sat reading in the library, he received a call from Ran. “Well?” she said as soon as he picked up. “How was it?”

Shinichi glanced out the window. For a moment, he could have sworn a shadow passed over the quarter moon; but then again, his rival would never be so sloppy. He grinned. “It was like meeting an old friend for the first time.”


	21. Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito has a bit of a run-in with the organization. He comes to Conan and company for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty-Seventh.
> 
> Congrats to Pine Dove for a correct guess! Request was for toddler/little child Kaito. Hopefully this fits what you were looking for!
> 
> I'd expected this to turn out more fluff than plot, but the plot took over so the fluff is mostly in the mini-scenes after the first big scene. Whoops. Honestly this one wanted to turn into something a lot longer, but these are supposed to be ficlets and not full-blown fics. Plus I don't write much with other characters getting shrunk. So if it feels a bit piecemeal and less complete than my works usually do, that's why. -u-
> 
> Anyway, sorry for missing yesterday's ficlet. Like I said a few days ago, life is hectic right now. But I was most definitely not missing today because reasons. (Not just because I'm down to five ficlets to post, though that is a thing that's true.)

When the doorbell rang, Agasa was quick enough to drop his current project and rush to answer the door. Ai rolled her eyes at his eagerness for a quick break from what he’d been too excited about to sleep earlier, but she kept her peace and returned to her own work.

Meanwhile, Agasa opened the door, automatically looking down when he didn’t immediately see anyone. “Ah, Shinichi-kun. Did you lose your key?”

The child blinked at him for a moment, then facepalmed. “Of course that would be your first thought.”

“Eh?” 

“I’m not him.”

Agasa was confused by this statement, but he took a moment to turn it over in his head. Shinichi should still be with his friends. They’d tripped over another case and would be busy for a while yet. Plus, this kid didn’t look quite the same as Shinichi, even setting aside the messy hair. Which added up to…

“Magician in the Moonlight-san,” Haibara said, coming up behind them. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

KID grinned at her, and suddenly it was easy to see the difference. “Got it in one. I apologize for not sending an RSVP, but I needed to get somewhere safe before anyone realized my, ah, situation.”

She looked him over cautiously, then nodded and headed back inside. “Let’s not stand out here discussing sensitive information. We can talk inside.”

“H-hey, Ai!” Agasa said, looking back and forth between the two not-children.

She turned back and offered a faint smile. “It’s alright, professor. He won’t learn anything he doesn't already know, and could provide us with valuable information. Besides,” she added, smile sharpening, “if he does somehow betray us, we have ways to make things difficult for him.”

“It’s certainly more beneficial for me to stay on your good side,” KID observed mildly. “Seeing as the young lady here holds my best hope of returning to normal.”

From the sharp look Ai gave him, that wasn’t the leverage she’d been thinking of, but KID’s strangely vapid smile kept her quiet. “Indeed. I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to talk.”

Agasa focused on the shrunken thief as she vanished. Social instincts finally took over where sense couldn't find a handhold. “Do you prefer tea or coffee?”

KID’s smile looked a little more genuine when he replied. “Do you have hot chocolate?”

 

Conan wasn’t sure whether to be excited or worried when he got to Agasa’s. Ai’s text had only said ‘Come quickly, there’s been a development’, which didn't tell him whether it was a ‘finished a cure’ development or a ‘they’ve found us and we’re going into hiding’ one. So he may have been a touch worried.

He entered and was pulling off his shoes when he heard Ai’s voice. “-different form? It certainly doesn’t bode well.”

“I have no idea,” someone else said. Not a voice Conan recognized. “All I know is, one second I’m cursing them for hiring someone who can actually aim, the next my everything was on fire. I’m mostly surprised I didn’t go into shock from the pain. Is it always that bad?”

“As far as we’ve experienced, yes. Both directions are excruciatingly painful.”

“In that case, I have a lot more respect for tantei-kun, considering how often he’s chosen to change back.”

“It’s not worth respecting. He’s just a stubborn fool who doesn’t know when to quit.”

Conan, meanwhile, had frozen solid. Tantei-kun. Only one person called him that, but what was he-

The detective found himself in the main room without any memory of having run there, Ai and a boy who looked vaguely familiar staring at him.

“Hi, tantei-kun,” the boy said, mildly bemused. 

Conan just looked at him for a moment, then dropped to the couch beside him like a puppet whose strings had been cut. “I’m not sure,” he managed, “whether to be angry you’re involved in this now, or relieved you’re one of the few who survive the poison.”

“Bit of both?"

“...Yeah, I can manage that.”

Haibara coughed to get their attention. “Back to business. According to KID, the organization managed to shoot him, causing his regression. We do not know whether it was the projectile, or some substance on it, that contained the apotoxin. However, this does mean they’re much more versatile about administering it than they were when we first regressed.”

“Great,” Conan muttered, slumping further into the seat. “Just what they needed, more tools to kill people with.”

KID winced. “Indeed, this is not the best situation.”

Conan sighed, then sat up. “There isn’t much we can do about that. For now, what are your plans?”

“Pardon?”

“Where are you going to stay?” Haibara clarified. “And you can hardly return to your old life while you’re a decade too young, so you’d best start thinking of a cover story to explain your absence. If you recall, Kudo Shinichi is known to be on a case that keeps him from returning home, and I have neither desire nor opportunity to return to my past life so it doesn’t matter. But you’d best think of something before someone searches too deep and gets involved.”

KID’s eyes widened with realization. “Shoot. I hadn’t even thought of - I need to call, make sure he doesn’t-” He cut off, looking slightly panicked.

Conan understood. “Do you need a phone, or just a place to be?”

“Both. I could use my phone if need be, but I’d rather not. Personal identification purposes.”

“We have burner phones,” Ai said. “To be used and discarded when needed.”

“Perfect.”

A few minutes later, KID dialled a number and held the phone to his ear, far enough from the others that they’d have no chance of hearing the person on the other end but still in the same room. When he spoke, it was in the usual deep voice he used at heists. “Tantei-san.”

Conan’s breath caught. Of course, Hakuba. KID had as good as admitted on one occasion that the other detective suspected his civilian identity of being him (though in a more roundabout way, referring to ‘that poor fan of mine who doesn’t deserve these accusations’); if he suddenly went missing, even if there were a valid excuse, Hakuba would almost certainly investigate. And there were no guarantees it would turn out as well for him as it had for Hattori.

He tried very hard not to listen to whatever KID was saying over the phone. But there was no way he could avoid noticing when he all but yelped, “What do you mean  _ cousin _ ?”

Conan and Ai stared openly as he listened to whatever was being said. Then he turned to them and covered the mouthpiece. “Tantei-kun, were you aware that tantei-san knows about your… condition?”

...Well, there was really only one response to that. “Goddamnit Hattori.”

Ai, for her part, only sighed.

 

It was decided that KID would stay at Agasa’s house for a few days and duck over to the Kudo mansion if anyone came to visit. That way there would be less of a coincidence to find in how soon after KID’s civilian identity ‘went on vacation’ the strange child appeared.

Hakuba agreed to house the miniature thief after their initial hiding period, though it was clear he wasn’t sure how good an idea that was (especially with how gleeful KID had sounded at the thought). Even so, it was unanimously agreed that spreading out the band of miniature adults would make them far less conspicuous. But that left them with a question.

“What do we call you?” Conan finally asked.

KID blinked at him upside down, currently hanging off a bit of pipe. “KID’s been working just fine, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but you’re going to have to go out in public at some point, right? You know enough about acting to know that you’d better have a story prepared.”

“Hmm.” He flipped off his perch to land neatly on the couch, cross-legged and posed to think carefully. “What about-”

“If you say Maurice I will strangle you. I’m going to assume you’re not stupid enough to suggest Leblanc as a surname when you look distinctly Japanese.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Hardly. I’ve just spent enough time with a poorly thought out alias to advise against going with the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Point. Alright, I’ll give it some thought. ...Seriously, I will. Stop looking at me like that.”

 

“Hey, KID-”

“You can call me by name you know.”

Conan paused to blink at him. “What?”

KID shrugged. “You already know who I am via family connections. No reason to dance around it when we’re not chasing each other.”

There was a pause.

“You do realize I could turn you in using that, right?” Conan asked. Not that he would, or even could in more than the theoretical sense, but he wondered which KI-er, Kaito cared more about.

Kaito shrugged. “Maybe. But it’d be hard to explain how you got that information, and harder to keep your secret while explaining that I’m not as young as I look.”

“Ah.” Well that answered that. Not that he’d expected different, but he may have hoped. 

“And…” Conan’s head snapped back up. Kaito was carefully studying the wall, faintly flushed. “I doubt you’d tell them anyway. That’s not your style.”

Conan had to restrain a grin. It wasn't quite an ‘I trust you’, but it was close enough considering who he was talking to. “It’s nice to meet you, Kuroba.”

The magician smiled, still turned away. “You too, Kudo.”

 

Conan called a greeting as he entered the house, the Shounen Tantei following him inside. He was first to reach the main room, and therefore first to see Agasa hovering uncertainly over the couch. He cast a helpless look at Conan as the others crowded in behind him.

Mitsuhiko opened his mouth, but Ai slapped a hand over it before he could get a word out. Conan nodded thanks and held a finger to his lips to request their silence. His footsteps were nearly soundless as he crept around the couch.

Kaito lay sprawled out with several papers spread across his torso like a strange sort of makeshift blanket. His mouth hung open, though he somehow managed to avoid drooling on his papers.

Overall it was strangely endearing. Especially with how relaxed he looked. Conan couldn't think of a time he’d seen the thief with his guard down like this.

Too bad he could feel Ai staring pointedly at him. He turned back to the curious stares of his friends and jerked his head toward the door. They obeyed the unspoken command, albeit reluctantly, and he nodded at a bewildered Agasa before leaving the room.

Once outside, the three actual kids turn on him, talking over themselves for an explanation.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Conan said, suddenly feeling very tired. Maybe he should have just woken Kaito up and made  _ him  _ deal with the mess. Then he remembered how little sleep he’d gotten his first couple weeks as Conan, and his anger just sort of dissipated. “It was just someone who dropped in for a visit and fell asleep. I figured we shouldn’t wake him.” There. That should do for the moment.

Ayumi tilted her head to one side. “Who, though? You never talk about your friends from before we met.”

So much for that being all.

“His cousin,” Ai said, a mixed blessing for sure. “He dropped by unexpectedly.”

The three’s eyes lit up. “You mean Shinichi-san?” Mitsuhiko asked. 

Conan groaned internally. “Different cousin,” he said. “I’ll introduce you if he wakes up, okay?”

(Kaito didn’t wake up before they had to leave, but they’d mostly forgotten the incident by then anyway. Conan heaved a sigh of relief and resolved to have a talk with Kaito about a younger body needing more sleep.)

 

“Hey, it’s us!” 

Conan looked up from his book to see Kaito grinning up at the sky. “Pardon?”

Kaito pointed at the quarter moon visible out the window. “It’s us, right? One side light, one side dark. I’m always in the spotlight and you’re in the shadows.” He paused, then winced. “That sounded a lot less rude in my head.” 

Conan quirked a smile. It wasn’t every day you saw the Kaitou KID being awkward about something. But his smile faded a little as realization struck. “It’s more than that. We both started on the bright side, in the spotlight. But now…”

Kaito looked at him, then away. There was a long pause.

“...Do you think… if I asked… Haibara would let me have one of the temporary antidotes to drop off a message?” 

Conan blinked at him, unsure exactly where the question was coming from. “I don’t know,” he answered, as honestly as he could. “It depends on what the message is and why you want to send it.”

A beat of silence. “You’ve probably figured out that I’m not the original KID.”

“Well, yeah.” It wasn’t hard if you realized his age.

“Then you realize there was an eight year hiatus. Nakamori-keibu was devastated when he realized KID might never hold another heist. And I.” He paused for another moment. “I don’t want to cause that sort of pain. Not for him, or the rest of the task force, not anyone.”

“An honorable cause.” They both startled a bit before looking back at Ai. “I assume you would make it clear that your continued existence is to be kept secret, correct?”

Kaito nodded without blinking. “Uh, yeah. I’d only tell Nakamori, so he can decide who else needs to know. He’s closer to them than I am. By the way, when did you get out here?”

“About the time you asked if I’d let you have a temporary antidote.” She turned, glancing back over her shoulder before proceeding inside. “Follow me. I need a blood sample to make sure the antidote won’t react negatively with your genetics.”

Kaito’s confusion melted into a grin as he followed her. Conan smiled a bit himself as he returned to his book.


	22. Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan gets some help with his latest case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty-Eighth. 
> 
> Congrats to kitsunecrayon for a correct guess! Request was Conan meeting Kaito as a civilian and deducing his identity. I'd hoped to make it a little less obvious who it was, but the side characters didn't cooperate. Hope you enjoy anyway! :)
> 
> By the way, if the resolution of the case doesn't make sense, feel free to ask for clarification. I'm not the best mystery writer and some of the logic is definitely weird. -u-
> 
> There's three more ficlets after this one before the closing chapter will be posted, so if you want to guess the recurring detail and haven't yet, best do so soon! :)

Conan was studying the crime scene when he felt an all too familiar weight settle on his shoulders. Someone was watching him.  And not just anyone; _he_ was watching. He wondered for a moment if he was just getting thrown off by the gibbous moon still in the sky during the day, but no. He knew that feeling too well to mistake it for anything else or vice versa.

A quick look around revealed nothing particularly suspicious. The suspects of the case were in one corner, being questioned by the police, while the rest of the café guests looked on with a range of emotions running from confused to bewildered to horrified, still waiting to be questioned.

Conan ignored the suspects for the moment (it wouldn’t be one of them, he would have noticed earlier) in favor of scanning the other patrons. A couple young women in business attire currently fending off Mouri’s flirtations, a student tapping away at a laptop, a crying girl whose boyfriend was frantically trying to console her, two or three groups of friends whispering together… any of them could be the one whose presence he’d felt earlier. He was brilliant at disguise, after all.

Actually, he could be any of them even without his ability to disguise himself. This wasn’t a heist; KID could be himself as a civilian without any risk of being arrested, even if Conan managed to connect the dots. So he reminded himself not to watch for hints (KID never could resist leaving them at heists) and kept a small part of his attention on spotting the thief while he focused on the crime scene.

He let out a pained yell as Mouri thwacked him on the head. “What do I always say about interfering with the crime scene?” the detective said, catching him by the jacket before he could escape.

A moment later he was tossed over to one side. He grumbled and rubbed his head, glaring at where Mouri was doing exactly what he’d been doing before the interruption: examining the body. Well, it was an improvement over flirting with the businesswomen, so he couldn’t complain too much.

“Are you alright, kid?” He glanced up, realizing he’d landed by the couple’s table. The boyfriend was the one who spoke, and the girlfriend seemed to latch on to the distraction a moment later.

“Here,” she said, offering her water bottle. “It’s cold, so you can hold it on any hurt spots you have.”

“Ah, thanks,” he said, smiling bright and childlike as he took it and held it against his head as a makeshift ice pack. He debated questioning them, but the police would ask in a few minutes anyway, and they weren’t close enough to have a good chance of noticing something. It wasn’t worth causing another meltdown.

“That detective’s kind of bad, isn’t he,” someone else remarked. Conan looked up at the teenager at the next table, who was frowning at Mouri. “I heard he was a great detective, but what kind of great detective hits kids?”

“I’m okay, really,” he protested weakly. “And it’s only when I go into crime scenes without permission.” Which happened a lot, but this guy didn’t need to know that. The last thing he needed was for someone to drag CPS into this.

The teenager gave him a dubious look, then shrugged and dropped it. “Okay then. Anyway, he could at least watch that he doesn’t drop you in potential evidence.”

Conan’s eyes sharpened on him. “Where?”

He blinked, startled by the seeming child’s sudden vehemence. “Uh, on the floor. By your foot. There’s that weird powder stuff, see?”

Sure enough, there was some sort of powdery substance under the table. The one diagonally adjacent the one where the victim died, in fact. Hmm…

He twitched as he felt that gaze on him again, but managed to keep his attention on the case. Now wasn’t the time to hunt a thief. Now was the time to catch this murderer.

“Ugh.”

He glanced back to see the teenager from before making a face at his beverage. The boy noticed his staring and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, don’t mind me. They just put too little milk and sugar in my coffee. And somehow I doubt they’ll be too happy to serve a new cup right now.” He glanced at Mouri, then held out the cup. “You’re old enough to drink coffee, right? Want some?”

Conan blinked, then nodded and accepted the drink. It was something of an odd offer considering that most kids his apparent age loved sweets. But he wasn’t about to look a gift coffee in the mouth. Er, something like that.

He sipped at the coffee, wrinkling his nose a bit at the sweetness (how much sugar did this kid usually put in his coffee, if this wasn’t enough?), then gulped eagerly at the god given source of caffeine. Thank goodness Ran wasn’t here today; she would have banned him from drinking even a drop of the glorious-

Wait. Maybe… He thanked the kid and returned the mostly empty cup before running back to the scene, hopping on a chair one table over so Mouri couldn’t complain about him interfering with the scene. He grinned as he saw the thing he’d been looking for. Then he frowned again, realizing he didn’t know how the culprit had done it without being noticed. More important, how could he prove it was them?

“Ack!” Everyone turned at the loud yell. The student looked up at them, blinking, then smiled a sunny smile. “Don’t mind me, just spilled sugar all over my shirt. Nothing important.”

Conan rolled his eyes at the display of clumsiness. That kid clearly had some issues. Then he paused, several realizations hitting him at once. As a smirk slid across his face, he didn’t even notice the matching grin on the face of the teenager behind him.

The criminal was caught a few minutes later. (She was the victim’s ex, he was being pushy about ‘trying again’ to the point of blackmail and stalking, she took matters into her own hands with a cup of tea that ‘didn’t taste right’ and a packet of something that wasn’t sugar; the empty packet was evidence, plus the sugar spilled at her end of the table.)

As the police led her away, Conan sidled over to the teenager. “You know,” he said, “I could’ve solved it without you giving yourself away.”

He looked back, blinking in plain confusion. “Huh? Is this about the coffee? Cause there was nothing strange in it, honest. Just not enough sugar.”

“You forgot the milk. Sugar you could have fixed yourself, which you obviously knew since you spilled a whole packet down your front.”

There was a moment when it looked like he wouldn’t admit to it. Then he chuckled, shaking his head. His smile and general air were subtly different when he opened his eyes again. “I knew you’d figure out the case eventually, but the sugar was a little hard to notice. It’s a café; there’s bound to be spills. Likely that’s what the young lady was planning on. Fortunately, I’m familiar enough with sleight of hand to spot such tricks.”

“I appreciate the help, then.” Conan glanced over at the police. “They’ll need to take statements, so I’ll head out with Mouri.” He was stopped by a hand brushing his shoulder.

KID looked at him, eyes solemn. “It’s because they’ll take my name, isn’t it.”

Conan looked away. “I already got a face without earning it. It wouldn’t be fair to-” A rose, white tinted a shimmering pink, was thrust in front of him abruptly. He jerked back, then turned to stare wide-eyed at the grinning thief.

“Kuroba Kaito, magician,” he says, still holding out the rose. Conan takes it a bit hesitantly, and Kaito’s grin only widens. “There. Now you have a name freely given. How’s that?”

Conan manages a small smile himself. “That’s fine, as long as you realize I’m going to suggest we trade numbers. Since you have such interesting insights on cases, of course, to help me learn to be a better detective when I grow up.”

“Yep. Though I don’t see how getting hit in the head is improving your detective skills.”

“…Mouri is going to have a bad time at the next KID heist he attends, isn’t he?”

Kaito somehow managed to grin wider. “Any particular reason you’d think that?”

“Just a hunch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, this ficlet is exactly 1412 words. This was not intentional, but needed to be shared for obvious reasons. ouo


	23. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito has trouble sleeping and issues with sleeping medication. Shinichi understands paranoid reflexes and knows how to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Twenty-Ninth
> 
> I'll be honest: the premise for this could have been thought out better. But all I really wanted was these guys (literally) sleeping together. And I only got a little of that because the context took up too much space. Thanks, brain. -u-
> 
> Though for the record, the music mentioned does exist and it actually works. Don't remember what it's called, but apparently it matches the sound waves with your brain waves during sleep or something? IDK, I just know it works. :P
> 
> In completely unrelated news, I have discovered how to make hot chocolate with milk, chocolate chips, and a microwave! I feel so accomplished. (Feel free to ignore this in favor of your regularly scheduled Kaito and Shinichi fluff.)

“I’m surprised you agreed to take it at all,” Shinichi remarked.

“Shut up,” Kaito said, glaring sullenly at the object in his hand. One pill bottle, several tiny pills, currently the source of all his problems. Well, not right at that moment, but it would be in a few hours. In that short amount of time, he’d have to face not having full use of his senses, addled by sleepiness that could prevent him from recognizing a threat if one appeared-

“Whoa, easy.” Shinichi said, sounding distinctly concerned. Which probably had something to do with the way Kaito’s breathing was speeding up. “Maybe you should call your friend and tell her you can’t do this. Having a panic attack won’t help you sleep either.”

“No,” he said, firm despite his shaky breathing. “I promised I’d try. If it doesn’t work, I don’t have to do it again. That’s what Aoko and I agreed.”

Shinichi looked like he wanted to argue further, but restrained himself. “Alright. Would it help if I stayed with you?”

Kaito nodded emphatically. He didn’t even need to think about it. “Please. That would make it so much easier, you have no idea.”

“I have some,” he said softly before returning to his normal pitch. “In that case, I’ll stay here for the night. I need to pick up a few things, but I should be back before you need to take the medicine. Call immediately if you have another attack, got it?”

Kaito gave a mock salute that Shinichi inspected severely before nodding and leaving. After the detective left, Kaito slumped down in his seat. This was going to be a stressful night. But at least he’d have someone as paranoid as himself to share it with.

 

It started when Kaito began falling asleep more often than usual in class. Everyone was concerned – especially Aoko. Under her barrage of questions, lent some direction by Hakuba’s own worry, she’d determined that his sleep had been interrupted by nightmares in recent days.

When he wouldn’t elaborate on the cause of his nightmares (mostly because they all involved KID and his pursuers in some way, shape, or form), she’d taken it upon herself to fight his insomnia through conventional means, starting with warm milk and new curtains, moving on to a nighttime ban on electronics and some weird music to encourage sleep, and finally dragging him to a doctor and coming away with a prescription.

He wasn’t too happy about the sleeping pills, especially since loss of his usual abilities often figured in his nightmares. But she’d been determined, and now he was stuck with a poorly thought out promise.

 

“You didn’t call.”

Shinichi’s tone wasn’t accusing, but Kaito still had to resist the urge to flinch. He managed to summon a smile instead. “Didn’t need to.”

“So you didn’t have another attack in the last ten minutes?”

“Nope.” He’d just barely stopped himself from having one, which was for all intents and purposes the same thing, but he was experienced enough at misdirection to know where half-truths were best applied.

Or he usually was. Because Shinichi’s face was not the face of one swallowing a half-truth so much as that of a skeptic who’s going to let it slide – _for now._ Kaito managed to keep his smile bright and guileless as he waved Shinichi inside.

Most of the lights were already off in preparation for sleep, the gibbous moon the only lighting through most of the house. The only rooms still lit were the kitchen and Kaito’s room. “I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten yet,” he explained.

“I did. It wouldn’t be fair to ask you to cook without warning.”

Kaito managed a smile “Thanks, it’s appreciated.”

Shinichi nodded, then glanced around. “Is there somewhere I can change clothes?”

“Sure. Bathroom’s right there. I’ll just change in my room.”

A few minutes later found them standing awkwardly in Kaito’s room, the magician once more rolling the pill bottle in his hands. Shinichi watched him for a moment, then sighed. “Just take it. Better to get it over with, right?”

“…Right.” Kaito opened the lid, shaking out a tablet and swallowing it dry. He nearly slammed the bottle down on his table to get it away from him. Shinichi put it away in the drawer so he wouldn’t have to look at it. Kaito shot him a grateful look before flopping onto the bed, leaving room for Shinichi next to him.

He stared resolutely at the ceiling as a weight settled at his side, a warm shoulder just brushing against his. “Want to talk about your day?” Shinichi asked

That… wasn’t a bad idea. He hesitated a moment before beginning to speak, talking about the tricks he’d pulled off, including a really complicated one in literature class involving multiple costumes and character changes. He was especially proud of that one. Then there was some homework, and Aoko brought lunch because he always forgot his…

He yawned, feeling his eyes sting and threaten to close. Which was weird, usually he just dropped off, no real in-between stage like this. Must be pill kicking in. His breath caught for a moment before Shinichi nudged him with his elbow, a subtle reminder of his presence. “How about I tell you about the case I saw today?” he suggested, voice soft.

Kaito thought for a moment, then nodded. “Kay. Bet I can figure out who did it.”

Shinichi chuckled. “I’m sure you can. It was like this…”

As Shinichi wove a picture with his words (seriously, he could be an amazing writer if he wanted to), Kaito let his eyes fall closed. He relaxed to the soothing sound of his friend’s voice talking about… uh. Dead people.

In his defense, Shinichi had a really relaxing voice when he wanted to and it probably didn’t matter what he was saying.

The voice suddenly stopped for a moment. “Kaito? You asleep?”

“Nnn. No.” He cracked an eye open. “Not the butler. Older sister?”

Shinichi beamed at him. “Right. Want to hear how I proved it?”

“Sure.”

He fell asleep to Shinichi describing his trap and dreamed of gliding through the sky with Conan held tight in his arms. And while the flying part ceased to be true when he woke up, he was curled just as tight against his detective.


	24. Chariot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan's late to a Shounen Tantei meetup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Thirtieth.
> 
> Originally this was supposed to be KID kidnapping Conan (for the record that sentence wasn't supposed to be funny) and taking him to school via hang glider. It kind of shifted. I'm not complaining though, even if it is a bit plotless. :P In other news, I still can't write actual kids. This is why nothing I write has the Shounen Tantei in any sort of important role. Probably doesn't help that this isn't one of my best stories, but still.
> 
> One more ficlet and the final one left. Almost there! :D  
> (I mean I'll be sad when this is done but it's still a goal accomplished.)

“Conan-kun’s late,” Ayumi said, frowning at the sky.

Mitsuhiko and Genta paused their discussion to give her matching confused looks. “But he said he’d be late,” Mitsuhiko said. “What’s wrong with it if he told us?”

“But he said he’d get here when the moon appears!” she said. “Look, it’s past moonrise.”

They looked, and there was indeed a gibbous moon rising slowly in the sky. “That’s a weird way to give a time,” Genta said, for lack of anything better to say.

“And not exactly Edogawa-kun’s usual way,” Haibara observed. “It’s cryptic, requiring some thought to understand, rather than clear and concise like his usual missives. I wonder what could have caused him to act so out of character.” She paused, considering. “Yoshida-san, what exactly was the message?”

“Um… here.” She dug out her phone and held it out, message open on the screen.

_My chariot arrives with the moon’s appearance. Apologies for the delay._

…

Thunk.

“Um, Ai-chan?” Ayumi asked uncertainly.

“Yes, Yoshida-san?”

“Why did you hit the tree with your head?”

“Because I am once again amazed at the inanity of supposedly sentient thought.” The confusion from the other three fell heavily on her back, so she sighed and turned to face them again. “It’s nothing. Edogawa-kun should be here soon. We might as well start the game while we wait.”

A few minutes later, Mitsuhiko noticed her looking up at the sky and almost got hit by the soccer ball when he stopped short. “Haibara-san, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m waiting for the chariot.”

The others exchanged looks, then followed her gaze to a white spot in the sky. “That’s a chariot?” Mitsuhiko asked dubiously.

“Mhm. Wait a moment.”

They did, fidgeting impatiently as the speck grew larger, becoming a triangle, then gaining a dark spot in its center. By the time it was close enough to make out details, they’d figured out what it was and were running toward the landing site.

KID hit the ground with barely a thump, quickly retracting his glider and setting Conan on the ground before turning to the approaching children. “Hello everyone. Always nice to have a warm welcome.”

“KID-san,” Haibara said over the stunned silence. “Is there a particular reason you took the duty of being Edogawa-kun’s chariot?”

“He stranded me on a skyscraper roof without my phone,” Conan said, glaring at the thief. “I was stuck there all night before he realized and came back to get me.”

KID winced. “Yes, well, in my defense you usually have two. I didn’t realize the broken one was your only one. And at least I brought you the other. In any case,” he added quickly, seeing Conan’s glare deepen, “I’d best be going. A thief’s life is always busy, you know.” He dropped a smoke capsule and vanished.

Conan’s eyes darted in several directions before the slightest smirk settled on his face. “Well then,” he said, suddenly cheerful, “since I’m here, what do you say we play soccer like we planned?”

Ayumi looked over at the larger clear spaces. “I think the fields are already being used.”

“That’s okay, we can play right here. The trees will be a fun challenge, right?”

The three actual children agreed, somewhat confused. Haibara, on the other hand, dared an amused glance upward. KID huffed silently from his spot in the tree and made a face.

They spent several hours playing various games, and by the time they finally decided to go home KID was clearly bored out of his skull (and out of magic tricks to practice). Conan smirked back at the thief as they left, satisfied in his revenge.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan and Nakamori chat at a heist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on October Thirty-First
> 
> I must confess, this is not what I'd meant to post today. But the original piece for today wasn't really the same sort of thing as the others, so it seemed weird to post it in this ficlet set, and I wrote this instead of properly writing that. If the ficlet seems a little off, that's probably why.  
> (to give an idea, the thought behind the original ficlet was 'for a story with so many separate identities, there's a ridiculous lack of selfcest.')
> 
> In any case, I'll be posting a final ficlet sometime tomorrow evening before vanishing for November and some time after. If anyone still wants to guess the consistent detail, you have until then.  
> And if anyone else is doing NaNoWriMo, let me know if you want to write together! It's almost always more fun to write alongside other people. :)
> 
> Something to note: this is not necessarily indicative of anything in other ficlets. Unless you want it to be, in which case have fun.

It was a lovely night for a heist, well lit by a bright gibbous moon and with only a faint breeze to chill the air. Conan was examining the task force’s final preparations when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see a familiar face. “Nakamori-keibu.”

The inspector grunted a greeting and gestured at a nearby planter. Curious, Conan followed him over to it and took a seat at his side.

“…You have some kind of agreement not to arrest that thief outside of normal circumstances, right?”

Conan gave a start, then tried to pull together an innocent look. “What? If I catch KID I’m gonna tell the police, that’s how it works, right?”

Nakamori just looked at him for a moment. “You’re not in trouble, brat. But I need to know.”

Conan hesitated. Admitting this would mean admitting he intentionally acted outside the law, it might even get him banned from future heists, but there was something… “Yeah. He’s doing something important, so I won’t arrest him unless I catch him fair and square.”

“And Hakuba-kun? He won’t be in trouble either.”

That… was a little trickier. “It depends,” he hedged. “Why?”

Nakamori glanced around, then leaned a little closer. “Middle aged woman by the rose vase, yellow dress. Whatever’s wrong, I spotted him right away when he came in.”

Now that he mentioned it, there was something about her that set off Conan’s KID sense. But… “Why are you telling me this?”

“You’ve got some kind of projectile in that watch of yours. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I’d bet anything that in about five minutes, ‘she’ will excuse herself to the bathroom and make a wrong turn. Shoot him and bring him to this room.” He dropped a hotel key card into Conan’s hand.

Conan looked at the card, then Nakamori, growing increasingly unsure of the situation. “But I’m not strong enough to carry him.”

“Get Hakuba-kun’s help. It’s why I asked if he can be trusted with this. I’d offer myself, but that would be too suspicious. The point is to keep the idiot from getting himself caught because he’s sick.”

That sort of made – wait. “How’d you know he’s sick?”

Nakamori grumbled something about magician brats before shrugging. “Educated guess. Now go get the other detective brat before we miss our chance.”

Conan nodded and jumped down, running to find Hakuba. Having Nakamori help with keeping Kaito safe was unexpected, but not at all unappreciated. And it would make it easier to handle this particular heist. Hakuba had already made arrangements to check the gem against the moon, since it was clear Kaito would be in no state to actually steal it. This just meant KID missed the heist entirely instead of briefly making a fool of himself.

Kaito would get over it eventually. In the meantime, the ease with which Conan darted him would serve as a good argument that he was not fit for KID duties and should stay at home for a few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In completely unrelated news, I went to dinner as a Knight of Time (would have gone as Dave Strider except I gave someone my wig and never got it back :T). Anyone else dress up for/otherwise celebrate Halloween?


	26. Elemental

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of scenes in a different world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted on November First. 
> 
> Welp, last one. I'm a little sad but mostly focused on my nanovel. It might hit once I'm done speed writing for the day. In any case, full explanation of the recurring detail will be in the end notes. 
> 
> This is more a set of scenes than a concrete story, and it's a crossover with my nanovel world. I honestly put way too much thought into what characters take which positions and so on. However, most of it doesn't show up here, because there's just too darn much. -u- I tried to keep it to scenes that wouldn't hint at a larger plot, but the first one gives some context to the world's setup as well as how it fits with dcmk canon. 
> 
> Little background info: elementalists/ellies are people with elemental powers who started being born after an apocalyptic event that messed up a lot of technological stuff. There's a light and a dark race that actively oppose each other.  
> (It's not stated outright, but Hakuba and Aoko are major figures in the light race.)  
> Most of the world building in this is accurate to the original work, with the only exceptions being that 1. the hair color thing is, in fact, absolute, and 2. Marks do not work the way they do here. At all.
> 
> Anyway, if anything doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll try to clarify without bombarding you with info.

Shinichi flinched away reflexively when the teen leaned in close, but found a hand on the back of his head holding him still. He stared with eyes the size of saucers at the much calmer pair only inches from his. Somehow he couldn’t find the energy to pull away. He blamed it on the events of the last… however long it had been since he left his friend.

After a moment, the teen pulled away with a deep sigh, eyes falling closed for a moment before he looked back at Shinichi with a good-natured smile. “You’ll be fine. Never heard of this particular reaction to an attempted mark, but it’s the only effect you’ll be seeing.”

Shinichi looked down at his shrunken self. “This shouldn’t be possible even in the realm of magic stuff, huh?” he grumbled. “What’s the normal reaction to… that?”

“A permanent emotional hold on the marked person, usually resulting in a quick disposal when the marker has no more use for their victim, or near-instant death. I’m guessing from the fact that they left you here alone that they didn’t expect you to live.”

In other words, this could have been much worse. Right. “Well that’s just great. Who are you anyway?”

The bright grin flickered for a moment, more in surprise than disappointment if Shinichi’s assessment was correct. “Ah… you don’t know?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not stupid, you’re obviously Light. I was asking for a name.” He might not have been sure of the Light and Dark races’s existence earlier that day, but sometimes you had to accept the proof right in front of you. Which included being attacked by some sort of weird shadow magic and losing a decade of physical age. He tried not to shudder too noticeably at the memory of having _something_ seep into his skin, spreading out beneath the surface until his bones began to melt-

He shook his head to clear away the phantom sensations and scowled up at his companion. (Which was incredibly weird, he would probably be at eye level with this guy under ordinary circumstances.) “So what is it? Gemini? You seem like the multiple personality sort.” Actually, he had a more likely idea, but something told him not to voice it just yet.

Somehow the teen’s bright smile brightened further. “I’m afraid I don’t often go by my official name, but you may recognize my preferred title. Does Kid sound familiar?”

It did. “You mean the supposed magician who goes around causing mayhem and spiriting ellies away before they can be contained? ...Actually, that might explain some of the tricks I’ve heard about.”

“Oi, oi.” Kid pouted at him. “I never use my abilities in heists. Those are personal.”

That fit with what he’d heard, not that he planned to admit it. “If you say so. Anyway, I should probably go home… I’m sure _someone_ will have an idea of how to change me back…”

“Not asking the Light user for help?” Kid looked more amused than offended.

“Only if you’re offering. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

Kid eyed him warily (whoops, was that too obvious? Had he given his suspicions away?), then shrugged. “Not really. Those shadows you saw? High-ranking operatives. You stumbled on something bigger than you think, kid.”

“I’m pretty sure we’re the same age, appearances aside.”

Kid gave him a slightly dubious look. “Uh… you do realize we can change how we look, right?”

“Yes. But you don’t act how I’d expect an ancient being to act, more like other kids my age. If anything you’re less mature.”

“Gee, thanks.” Kid pouted. “You sound like my brother, you know. He’s always saying I need to grow up and act responsible. Not my fault that I’m actually a teenager right now.”

“I never said that. Just that you act like a teenager. At least you have an excuse, unlike some people I know.”

Kid looked at him for another moment, then grinned. “I like you, tantei-kun. I think I’m going to keep an eye on you.”

That shouldn’t have been reassuring, but somehow it was. He rolled his eyes rather than voicing the feeling. “If you have to. But my name is Kudo Shinichi, and I will get revenge if you try to call me that nickname again.”

“I’ll look forward to it, _tantei-kun_.” Kid’s grin was far too innocent for comfort as he overenunciated the syllables.

Shinichi scowled, then decided it wasn’t worth it. For the moment anyway. He looked at the strangely dark patch on the ground where he’d first woken up, barely visible by the light of the stars and gibbous moon. “How come they tried to mark me, anyway? Wouldn’t it be easier to kill me outright?”

Kid winced a bit – sensitive to the idea of death, perhaps? – then summoned a puzzled look. “I would think it was obvious.”

He blinked. “What, because I’m smart?”

“Because you have a lot of energy.” When Shinichi continued to stare at him, his grin began to regain its original shine. “Tell me, tantei-kun, have your eyes always been that blue?”

“Probably, unless the mark did something to-” He froze, eyes going wide with realization. “No.”

“And were you, by chance, born near a large body of water? An ocean, or even a lake?”

“No. No way.”

Kid’s grin practically split his face in two as he continued to ignore Shinichi’s repeated denials. “Perhaps you’ve noticed that you always know just before it’s going to rain, or similar skills?”

“Nope, I am not hearing this. There is absolutely no way, no chance, no how, that-”

“-you are most definitely a water elementalist without realizing it?” Kid interrupted. “It happens sometimes.”

“My hair isn’t blue. Not even a really dark blue.”

“That’s actually not a very common effect, just easy to spot. Anyway, it’ll be easier to hide your identity with something that obvious separating you from your old self.”

“…What?”

Kid blinked at him. Then his expression melted into something sympathetic. “You do realize you can’t just go back to your old life, right? They’ll target you again. Especially if they suspect you know something now.”

Shinichi stared at him. The words couldn’t seem to process right. “What?”

“Start with a name. That’s usually the easiest.”

Of course Kid would have experience with this. He took a breath, trying to stay calm. Panicking wouldn’t change the fact that Kid was right. And a name seemed as good a place to start as any. “Conan,” he decided after a moment’s thought. “Edogawa Conan.”

Kid thought for a moment. “Mystery writers, huh? I suppose it’s not horrible.”

“Like you’re one to talk, you go by a name generated by people’s enraged yelling O magician thief.”

“Hey, if you think of something better I’ll take it.”

Shinichi looked at him, eyes skimming over the white suit and cape (talk about impractical…) and pausing at about his chin. “…Kuroba, maybe? For your monocle charm?”

Kid raised his hand to the object in question, lifting it and studying the clover mark. “Didn’t expect you to actually suggest something. Kuroba… yeah, has a nice ring to it.” He grinned. “Fits my luck motif for sure.”

“And it’s a lot better than Luna if you’re using a male form.”

He snickered as Kid’s head whipped up in shock. “How-”

“Detective, remember? Though it wasn’t hard. You not showing up until after they’d left and grumbling about moonrise was a bit of a giveaway.”

Kid stared at him for a moment, then turned and thunked his head against the nearest tree.

 

“Hey Kid,” Conan said idly, flipping through the pages of a thick book.

Kid pouted. “You could pretend not to notice once in a while.”

“If you don’t want to be noticed, don’t walk on the morning dew when I’m practicing.”

Kid looked at him, then out on where he’d left a single footstep in the grassy patch by the door. “Impressive. You’ve come a long way in such a short time.”

“Eh. Did you ever suggest Germanic titles?”

“…What?”

He turned the book so Kid could see. “I’m assuming you know more about these people than I do, since it’s not like I can get a geography textbook these days and nobody’s figured out how to get a boat to or from Japan since the Disaster, but I found some information on languages. German ‘mond’ is masculine.”

Kid frowned. “I suggested that once, actually. The idea was shot down on account of being nontraditional. Though I’m not sure my sister minded so much as she tends to side with our brother. I think she does it to get on my nerves sometimes.”

“Well someone has to,” Conan muttered as the information registered. “Your brother wouldn’t happen to be the current manifestation of the sun, would he?”

“Yeah. Why?”

He pointed at another spot in the book. “The word for sun is feminine.”

There was a beat of silence. Then Kid started snickering.

Conan would have felt bad for giving the magician more ammo, but the brother in question sounded like he could use some help getting the stick out of his rear. Hopefully he’d never find out where the loony got his information from though.

 

“What is love?” Kid sang, flashing into being and collapsing on the couch.

Conan simply moved his papers toward the center of the floor in case the magician decided to roll dramatically off the couch. It wouldn’t be the first time, and he was not getting his notes crumpled up for the sake of theatrics. Paper was hard to come by. “The real question is, why are you so fond of music I couldn’t possibly know?”

Kid laughed gaily and flipped onto his side. “The world may never know! Though, I actually meant the question there.”

“…If this is about relationship advice, go out and meet Ran in disguise. She’ll be happy to give advice to anyone who needs it.”

“Noooot quite.” He rolled around a bit, ending in an upright position. (Good thing he’d decided to dress in something other than his suit for once; his serviceable black shirt and pants wouldn’t hinder him the way that stupid cape would. Not that he ever let that stop him wearing them.) “You’re aware we don’t have kids the way humans do, right?”

Conan paused his work, considering. “Meaning you don’t have sexual or romantic attraction?” That was… an interesting thought. “But can’t you feel other kinds of love?”

“Probably. I know I can feel familial love anyway.”

Huh. That was probably the closest he’d ever gotten to admitting he cared about his siblings. But now wasn’t really the time to comment. “I mean, I guess it’s wanting the best for the other person? Caring deeply about their wellbeing?”

Kid tilted his head, thinking. “…I do that anyway though.”

“Look, if you want a feelings expert, go find Ran. I’m trying to study here.”

“Why must you be so cruel to a poor magician?”

 

“Hey, Hakuba!”

The blond winced and turned a longsuffering look on the grinning magician. “Kuroba. I’m surprised to see you here.”

He blinked, puzzled. “Really? I’m an avid Kid fan, you know that.”

“You know what I meant. In any case, do I need to make introductions?” He nodded at the pint-sized detective at his side.

Conan debated being a brat about this (he was allowed, since he looked like one), then sighed and nodded. “I haven’t met him.” _Like this,_ his tone added silently, much to his conversation partner’s confusion.

Hakuba collected himself quickly and nodded. “Alright. Edogawa Conan, this is Kuroba Kaito, who as I’m sure you heard is an avid Kid fan, as well as an eternal thorn in my side.” He glared at Kaito. “I suspect no introductions are required the other way.”

“Nope!” Kaito beamed and crouched down to meet Conan’s eyes. “I know you from your work chasing Kid. Been following you since the start, as it were.” His grin conveyed the wink without actually doing it.

“Uh huh. And I’ll probably regret asking, but… Kaito?”

Another, more pleased grin. “’Sea’ and ‘fly’. No relation to our favorite Kaitou.”

“Of course not.”

Hakuba gave Conan an odd look. “Usually if someone knows it’s an alias, they question his surname as well.”

Kaito snickered. “He’s the one who thought of it.”

“…You know what, I’m not sure why I even try to be surprised anymore.”

Conan at least had the grace to look sheepish.

 

When he first woke up, Conan was only aware of the pain. But he quickly became aware of a voice growling somewhere nearby. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

Someone laughed, dark and mocking. “Oh? And what’s a mere child like you going to do about it?”

“I wouldn’t underestimate the power of the moon, shadow.”

“I don’t see why you’re so upset. He’s clearly marked as one of ours.”

“Marked and abandoned. Now he’s mine, and anyone who touches him will pay.” The unrestrained anger in that voice changed, becoming more controlled but no less filled with rage. “I suppose I should thank you for offering yourself as an example. But you won’t be available to thank soon.”

As the pain overwhelmed him again, Conan wasn’t sure whether he felt sorrier for whoever had crossed Kid, or happier that the thief was on his side.

 

“Tantei-kun!” Kid called, sweeping into the room with a broad smile. “I got your message, what’s up?”

Conan looked up from whatever project he was working on (practicing his powers from the look of things) to flash Kid his signature smirk. “Did you know shadows can use their marking ability on themselves to get the same effect I have?”

Kid blinked, then smirked right back. “I did not. Friend or foe?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drumroll, please. The detail that appears in every fic is... the moon.
> 
> That was the answer I was looking for, though some people also noticed it was the moon phase on that day in the challenge. Hence, all the many gibbous and crescent moons. I also tried to make it accurate to the actual moon rise/set (as seen in Tokyo), but I think I messed up on a couple days. Oops. 
> 
> Anyway, I was originally going to make a list of things I was surprised nobody commented on, or something similar, but I'm tired and have another 1k words to write in the next hour if I want to be a full day ahead. (Not happening, I'm doing this by hand. -u-) Instead, may I just say that Listen is my personal favorite from this series and leave it at that.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and a happy November to you all! :)


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